For Fierce Health IT readers, it was all about big money going into digital health in 2021—and Google.
Six of the top 10 health IT stories of the year covered either multibillion-dollar M&A deals or hefty investments in health tech startups. UnitedHealth kicked off the year with a $13 billion move to pick up Change Healthcare, while Mayo Clinic and Kaiser Permanente announced plans to invest $100 million in at-home acute care company Medically Home.
And, of course, readers are very interested in what Google is up to in the healthcare market, with two stories about the tech giant making the top 10 list. Earlier in the year, Google closed its $2.1 billion deal to pick up Fitbit, and news trickled out back in August that the company was dissolving its unified health division, raising questions about its healthcare strategy moving forward.
We also covered Walgreens' tech initiatives, including a recent move to establish a tech-enabled healthcare startup with the goal of creating a new patient platform that blends physical and digital tools.
It's no surprise that an Amazon story also cracked the top 10. Our piece about Amazon's plans to expand its virtual health service benefit, Amazon Care, racked up the page views as readers kept track of the online retail giant's moves in healthcare.
We'll be on a publishing break through the holidays, with no newsletters, but we'll see you back here at full speed in 2022.
Here are Fierce Health IT's top 10 most read stories in 2021:
1. UnitedHealth Group's Optum to buy Change Healthcare for $13B
3. Google says health projects will continue even as it unwinds dedicated health division
4. Digital health's top 10 money raisers in 2021—so far
6. Google closes $2.1B acquisition of Fitbit as Justice Department probe continues
7. Online therapy app Talkspace to go public in $1.4B deal with blank check firm
8. The digital mental health market is booming. Here’s why some experts are concerned
9. Cyberattack forces Scripps Health to go offline, disrupts patient care