Google plans to shutter its Google Health division as its leader, Dr. David Feinberg, departs the company to take over as president and CEO of healthcare IT firm Cerner, according to a report published August 20 by Business Insider.
According to a leaked memo from Google, the division will be shut down and its various health teams will be dispersed throughout the company, the Business Insider reported. Its clinical group, for example, will now report directly to Jeff Dean, senior vice president of Google Research and Google Health.
Feinberg had served as vice president of Google Health since 2019. In a tweet, Google Health thanked Feinberg and said that its "team is energized as it looks to the future."
In recent years, Google Health has been developing a number of artificial intelligence (AI) applications in radiology, including a model that was found to reduce both false negatives and false positives from screening mammography in a widely published study in January 2020. On its Imaging and Diagnostics web page, Google Health also highlights a collaboration with the Mayo Clinic aimed at improving radiotherapy planning.
