Geisinger chief will join Google to lead healthcare initiatives

Tom Paine


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David Feinberg / Geisinger website

Google has hired Geisinger Health CEO David Feinberg to lead its health care initiatives.

Google has various units working on healthcare-related initiatives, and part of Feiberg's role will be to pull them togther when appropriate into a more comprehensive strategy.

One of Google's highest priorities is to make Nest a fully functional home health product, particular for seniors. But certainly there are areas of Google in which there hasn't been much healthcare strategy development. Feinberg may face some turf challenges in working with some units.

Feinberg must also help to coordinate a coalition including Amazon, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and Salesforce, in addition to Google, which is trying to remove barriers to interoperability between systems.

Danville, PA-based Geisinger, which has hospitals in central and northeast Pennsylvania and also acts as an HMO in those areas, has an almost unique reputation in US healthcare for innovation and use of advanced digital systems.

Feinberg had turned down several offers to lure him from Geisinger, including one from the JPMorgan, Berkshire Hathaway, and Amazon healthcare triumvirate.

Feinberg spent four years at Geisinger. Two initiatives that moved forward under his leadership were in the areas of Population Health and Precision Medicine.