Tick Tock (or TikTok) for US Health Care

BY KIM BELLARD Yes, I know Congress just passed the Inflation Reduction Act, a big step forward in combating climate change that also has some important healthcare provisions (Medicare negotiating drug prices, anyone?), but, come on, TikTok is buying hospitals!  I can’t pass that up. To be more accurate, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is actually buying hospitals, through two of its health subsidiaries.  As first reported by South China Morning Post, and subsequently confirmed as a $1.5b deal by Bloomberg, ByteDance bought Beijing-based Amcare Healthcare, which runs eight women’s and children’s hospitals in four Chinese cities.  As a private system, it targets expats and high income locals.   This is not ByteDance’s first foray into healthcare; in 2020 it bought Xiaohe Medical, an internet hospital, as well as a medical information site and a telehealth service.  It is using its AI expertise to aid in drug discovery.  Its health business are under the umbrellas of Xiaohe Health and Xiaohe Health Technologies.  And you were excited about Amazon buying One Medical.    Now, just to be clear, I don’t have a TikTok account and don’t think I’ve ever even see a TikTok video, but I’ve been tracking it since 2019. I first wrote about how it could be a harbinger for foreign competition in the U.S. healthcare system, then about the threat it posed to our privacy, and marveled at its evolving social influence, such as in political organizi...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health Policy Source Type: blogs