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Virtual healthcare provider HealthTap announced a partnership with Samsung Health to integrate access to virtual primary and urgent care directly into the Samsung Health app.
This integration allows Samsung Health users to book and conduct virtual care consultations and follow-up virtually without leaving the app.
According to California-based HealthTap, the aim is to expand access to care via a new distribution channel harnessing Samsung Health's seven million monthly active U.S. users across Android devices.
In addition, through an embedded interface, Samsung Health users will have the capability to select a virtual visit option, complete a short intake and connect to a HealthTap doctor for a video consultation.
After a visit with a healthcare professional, patients will be able to review the clinician’s notes and follow-up instructions directly within Samsung Health.
"Integrating virtual primary and urgent care directly into Samsung Health creates a true gateway to continuous care," Sean Mehra, HealthTap CEO and cofounder, told MobiHealthNews.
"When individuals can connect with their physician in the same place they track their sleep, fitness and vitals, care becomes part of their daily routine instead of a separate event. This collaboration moves us closer to a world where access, context and personalized support are built into everyday life, helping people address issues like poor sleep, stress or chronic conditions before they escalate."
THE LARGER TREND
Earlier this month, HealthTap was listed as an independent care provider option on Eli Lilly and Company’s digital healthcare platform, which expanded access to primary care-driven diabetes management.
The option gives patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes or with other chronic conditions a way to establish a relationship with a primary care physician via virtual care.
Separately in April, healthcare software company Commure entered into a strategic partnership with HealthTap to merge its EHR integrations, AI-enabled tools and care coordination abilities with HealthTap’s clinician network and virtual care delivery services.
According to the two companies, the alliance allows health systems and other practices to provide enhanced services, including virtual primary care and after-hours coverage, without the need to build or staff internally.
The integration also included agentic AI, revenue cycle management, remote patient monitoring and ambient scribing.
In 2024, former employees of HealthTap filed a complaint in the State of Delaware against the company, venture firm Mohr Davidow Ventures, board members and executives, alleging that MDV orchestrated a process to dilute the company's valuation to become a majority controlling shareholder.
HealthTap board members and executives Bill Gossman, Bill Ericson, Paul Baldassari, David Kopp and Mehra were named as defendants.
The complaint states that MDV hand-picked board appointees and the CEO, thwarted the company's profitable core business, drove down its valuation by nearly 99% and "manufactured repeated liquidity crises."
The complaint also alleged that MDV and its affiliates breached fiduciary duties "in connection with two self-interested financing rounds orchestrated by MDV, the controlling shareholder of HealthTap, Inc. and approved by the MDV-dominated board of directors, on terms grossly unfair to the company's remaining shareholders."
That same year, HealthTap partnered with medical products and services company Aeroflow to enter the durable medical equipment market, allowing patients to access primary care and DME services.
The partnership allowed Aeroflow customers who do not have an established primary care provider to connect with a licensed HealthTap physician in its medical group, where they could receive DME-related consultations.
This week, Samsung announced that its sleep apnea feature is now available on the Galaxy Watch series through the Samsung Health Monitor app.
According to the company, the news follows the feature’s receipt of the Medical Device Registration Certificate from the Medical Device Authority in Malaysia.
In addition, the feature was also approved by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration and Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority.
Earlier this month, Samsung finalized its acquisition of Xealth. The aim was to help advance Samsung’s transformation into a connected care platform that bridges wellness and medical care.
In addition, Samsung’s wearable technology and Xealth’s digital health platform was intended to create a link between home health monitoring and clinical decision-making via enhancements to Xealth’s platform.
In 2024, at Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event in Paris, the tech giant announced its AI-powered offerings, including the Galaxy Ring designed to collect wearers' health data 24/7 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra with new BioActive Sensors.
It also announced its Galaxy AI-powered Energy Score through Samsung Health, which provides personalized insight into the body's functions and whether individuals should "take it easy" or "push their limits" by analyzing their sleep metrics and heart rate variability.
The app offers customized wellness tips aimed at improving a user's Energy Score, including guidance on getting more exercise, sleeping better and achieving a healthy weight.
