Here’s why big tech has failed to disrupt healthcare

Since I founded Zocdoc in 2007, I have watched the world’s biggest tech companies enter the healthcare space like lions, only to retreat like lambs. Microsoft HealthVault aimed to revolutionize personal health records. Google Health aimed to do the same. As Silicon Valley’s giants continue to impact every corner of our lives, their lack of traction in healthcare feels even more pronounced. And yet, the show goes on. Last month, Amazon announced a new healthcare venture aimed at message-based prescriptions for a limited set of conditions. To be clear: I believe that healthcare is the problem of our generation, and if we don’t fix it then it will break the bank, our health or both. And I believe it deserves the world’s best and brightest minds working on fixing it. But how we go about fixing healthcare matters. When I look at the strategic common denominator across big tech’s ventures into healthcare, it is that they are not primarily solving for what healthcare needs.