MasterCard, Verizon Make Initial Forays into Health Care

Two familiar names to consumers, MasterCard and Verizon, have launched their first significant health care initiatives. MasterCard is partnering with b.well Connected Health to offer a digital solution that enables patients to verify their identity using a mobile phone.

The service provides patients with a biometric alternative to verify their identity in person or virtually using a combination of government-ID document scanning, facial biometrics with liveness detection and mobile phone intelligence.

Meanwhile, it may be a decade late, but wireless giant Verizon is entering the telehealth field with its BlueJeans videoconferencing platform acquired last year for about $500 million. Verizon reportedly has reworked the platform to provide a more streamlined and simpler installation and user experience. Offering single-click access to its platform on a mobile device or desktop, BlueJeans for telehealth doesn’t require any downloads and its landing page is customizable for providers, including patient onboarding, pre-visit medical surveys and educational materials.