Best Buy partners with Atrium Health to bring health care home

Patients who would normally have to spend days in the hospital to recover from surgery or have a doctor monitor them after treatment might soon be able to recuperate at home.

That's the future Best Buy envisions after its new partnership with Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health. The endeavor, announced Tuesday, will develop an improved "hospital-at-home" program that takes advantage of Geek Squad agents for medical equipment technical support.

Atrium Health already has the clinical experience as the largest provider of "hospital-at-home" care in the country. The program allows non-emergent patients to convalesce at home thanks to provided in-home medical devices, virtual doctor's appointments and house calls.

"What we want to enable is to smooth out the road of care at home," said Deborah Di Sanzo, president of Best Buy Health. "Today it's disjointed, and we want to make that a much better experience for patients."

The two companies are still discussing how to best use Geek Squad's services, but one way might be in setting up the equipment so the medical professionals can focus on providing care.

"Our doctors and nurses don't have time to be the CTO [chief technology officer] for a 'hospital-at-home' program," she said. "And that is really where Best Buy and Best Buy Health comes in."

There are about 55 patients already in Atrium Health's "hospital-at-home" program who are using Best Buy's remote patient-monitoring platform Current Health — acquired for $400 million in 2021 — which allows doctors to observe patients' vitals from afar. Throughout the next few months, Best Buy and Atrium Health plan to refine protocols and logistics for Geek Squad's involvement.

Best Buy is also testing a medical service with Pennsylvania-based Geisinger Health System that could help provide at-home care for patients with long-term chronic illnesses. In-home care is already common in that realm when it comes to hospice services.

The "hospital-at-home" approach has gradually become more embraced in the United States as advocates have spoken out on the benefits of patients receiving hospital-like care from the comfort of their own homes.

The COVID-19 pandemic only heightened acceptance of "hospital-at-home" models as beds were at a premium in overwhelmed hospitals, and vulnerable older adults needed an alternative to crowded hospital wards.

Atrium Health launched its "hospital-at-home" program during the early stages of the pandemic and quickly became a leader of the service.

"Our partnership with Best Buy Health will help change the lives of our patients and consumers, giving them access to the tools and experiences they need to receive care in the comfort of their own home," said Dr. Rasu Shrestha, chief innovation and commercialization officer at Advocate Health, of which Atrium Health is a part, in a statement.

Best Buy has continued to evolve its health business Before the pandemic, Best Buy spent $800 million to purchase GreatCall, which is now known as Lively, to provide mobile service and medical-alert devices mostly for seniors.