Konica Minolta is entering the digital health market in (strategic) partnership with SnapMD, which enables providers to offer virtual care through its Software as a Service platform. The Business Innovation Center division of the Japanese technology company is launching a telemedicine pilot with plans to eventually expand to other areas.

“We are looking for unique and differentiated healthcare solutions at the point-of-care. Our initial focus is telemedicine, where we are working with SnapMD because of their well-designed business model and their exceptional, easy to use platform,” Konica Minolta’s VP of Business Innovation Center in North America, Ekta Sahasi, told MedCityNews. “As the Konica Minolta BIC expands beyond telemedicine, we will be working with more digital health companies to drive an integrated solution set that will deliver superior value to our customers and the patients. We expect to drive rich ecosystem partnerships, investments, and potential acquisitions to accelerate our efforts.”

She added that the partnership with SnapMD would help it to expand customer relationships.

These relationship may eventually extend to medical imaging which is the area where Konica Minolta could bring its extensive imaging technology and expertise. Said area has also been of interest to a number of startups and major players like IBM and Box, which have been pushing their cognitive computing and online storage technologies to companies looking to process images online.

All being said, chances are this isn’t the last time mHealth Spot will be talking about Konica Minolta’s digital efforts. Stay tuned as we bring you more…