Best Buy is partnering with the Israeli technology company Tyto Care to become the official retailer for the company’s all-in-one digital diagnostics kit through its physical stores in California, the Dakotas, Ohio and Minnesota, and through its online store. Tyto previously sold its technology through healthcare plans, making its handheld examination device (with attachments that act as a thermometer, a stethoscope, an otoscope and a tongue depressor) available to families with insurance that wanted to reduce the cost of checkups through remote monitoring. The company’s handheld device comes with an exam camera so it can prompt users where to position the device to get the most accurate readings. Now, through Best Buy, consumers can buy the company’s kit for $299.99. Through a partnership with American Well, users of the TytoHome kit have access to the company’s LiveHealth Online consultation service (if they live outside of Minnesota or the Dakotas). Which means patients can use the device to perform a medical exam and send the information to a physician for a diagnosis any time of the day or night. As part of the deal, Tyto Care is partnering with additional regional healthcare systems to provide medical care to consumers throughout the country. The first is Sanford Health, a Minnesota-based not-for-profit health system operating in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. For Best Buy, the move builds on the company’s attempts to move quickly into providing digital healthcare services just like it provides technical support through its Geek Squad. Last year the company bought GreatCall, which sells connected health and emergency response services to the AARP crowd. “We’re excited to partner with Best Buy, LiveHealth Online, American Well and regional health systems to extend our on-demand telehealth platform across the U.S., enhancing primary care delivery,” said Dedi Gilad, the chief executive and co-founder of Tyto Care, in a statement. The company, based in Herzliya, Israel, has raised $56.7 million to date from investors, including Sanford Health, the Japanese Itochu Corp., Shenzhen Capital Group, Ping An, LionBird, Fosun Group, Orbimed and Walgreens. The company said at the time that it would use the cash to expand in the U.S. and to other international markets in Asia and Europe. “These strategic partnerships will enable us to gain further momentum and accelerate our growth, deepening our foothold in the U.S. and other new strategic markets,” said GiladTyto Care said in a statement at the time.
US retailer Tyto Care and Israeli technology company Best Buy are to market an at-home health diagnostic kit. Tyto’s handheld device enables the remote monitoring of ailments. Equipped with an examination camera and attachments such as thermometer and stethoscope, the device allows patients to perform their own medical check at any time and submit the data to a health professional for diagnosis. The kit costs $299.99 and users in most US regions will also gain access to American Well’s LiveHealth Online consultation service.