IBM and GenieMD Tap the Power of Watson to Help Patients and Family Caregivers Better Manage their Health

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Oct 07, 2014, 07:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO and ARMONK, N.Y., Oct. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- GenieMD, a consumer oriented mobile health platform company, and IBM today announced that through the core capabilities of GenieMD and the power of IBM Watson, consumers will be empowered to take a more active role in managing their own health and the health of their loved ones.

GenieMD and IBM Watson. (PRNewsFoto/GenieMD)

Today, over 60 million Americans are unpaid family caregivers. These individuals are more likely to develop health problems due to their caregiving responsibilities; cost the employer 8% more in healthcare premiums; and represent more than $25 billion dollars of lost productivity to the US economy every year.

Fueled by IBM Watson technology, the GenieMD mobile app allows users to be more informed about their health conditions and conditions of their loved ones, have access to the latest relevant information and receive targeted and specific health tips from GenieMD. Users simply ask GenieMD questions in natural language which then analyzes volumes of data to offer personalized recommendations based on an individual's profile. The GenieMD mobile app facilitates care coordination anywhere, anytime.

"We are delighted to be an early adopter of IBM Watson cognitive computing technologies in personal healthcare. We strongly believe that through the power of IBM Watson and GenieMD technologies, we can empower individuals to be informed clients and carry a more meaningful conversation with their healthcare providers which will result in better outcomes and will help lower the cost of healthcare," said Dr. Soheil Saadat Founder & CEO of GenieMD.

IBM also announced today accelerated adoption of Watson's cognitive capabilities globally. Today's news reinforces IBM's strategy to fuel an ecosystem of innovators who will help make cognitive the new standard of computing.

"IBM is receiving an outpouring of interest from partners in Watson's cognitive capabilities and supporting industry-changing use cases around the globe," said Stephen Gold, Vice President, IBM Watson Group. "We are thrilled to be working with some of the industry's best and brightest entrepreneurs and established organizations."

Organizations that are interested in collaborating with IBM to develop Watson-powered applications can visit www.ibm.com/watsonecosystem to learn more.

IBM Watson: Pioneering a New Era of Computing
IBM Watson represents a new era of computing, in which apps and systems interact with human users more naturally, augment our knowledge with Big Data insights, and learn to improve how they assist us.

Fueled by innovation from a mission to transform industries and professions, Watson is uniquely positioned at the forefront of the new era of computing, evidenced by an unmatched demonstration of what cognitive systems can bring to transform decision-making. IBM is delivering a range of cloud-based products and services to clients in industries such as banking, healthcare, insurance, retail and education.

In January, 2014, IBM launched the IBM Watson Group, a new business unit dedicated to the development and commercialization of cloud-delivered cognitive advisors. The move signifies a strategic shift by IBM to accelerate into the marketplace a new class of software, services and apps that think, improve by learning, and discover insights from massive amounts of Big Data.

IBM is investing more than $1 billion into the Watson Group, focusing on research, development and bringing cloud-delivered cognitive applications and services to market. This includes $100 million earmarked for direct investment to support IBM's ecosystem of start-ups and businesses building cognitive apps made with Watson. Currently more than 3,300 organizations and entrepreneurial individuals have shared their ideas for creating cognitive apps that redefine how businesses and consumers make decisions.

For more information on IBM Watson, please visit: www.ibmwatson.com.

For more insights on this story and more, visit the IBM Watson press kit.

To join the social discussion about Watson, include the hashtag #ibmwatson. Follow Watson on Facebook and see Watson on YouTube and Flickr.

About GenieMD
At GenieMD our mission is to help improve the quality of human life by providing solutions that enable people to live the healthiest life possible. Our award winning mobile health solution empowers individuals to take a more active role in managing their own health and the health of their loved ones. We do this by seamlessly collecting health data from medical records, laboratories and wearable Wi-Fi enabled devices to deliver a holistic view of the individual's health to share with family caregivers and to facilitate better communication with the healthcare providers.

GenieMD was the winner of the ONC Blue Button+ and the IBM Watson Mobile Developer Challenge.

Contact: [email protected], 925-460-9191

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SOURCE GenieMD