Samsung’s smart TV telehealth strategy leaves the hospital for home

Article by Lisa Phillips | Oct 18, 2022

The news: Samsung partnered with virtual primary care provider HealthTap to offer telehealth visits on its smart TVs.

How we got here: Samsung and global rival LG Corp. have been focused on delivering smart TV technology to hospitals and health systems.

Samsung began working with TeleHealth Services in 2010 to design and distribute “cutting edge” hospital televisions and introduced SmarTigr, a patient engagement solution that used smart TV functionality to improve the inpatient experience.
LG Electronics teamed up with ezOntheCall in August 2021 to launch a telehealth platform to help clinicians handle administrative processes and update EHRs during virtual visits.
All LG smart TVs produced in 2021 and 2022 came equipped with a health education and telehealth app from the senior-focused health platform Independa.
And in March, LG teamed up with Amwell to introduce digital health solutions for in-home and inpatient care.

Why this matters: Consumers are already attuned to using telehealth on desktops and mobile devices. But TVs are ubiquitous in US households.

Smart TV penetration sits at 70.6 million US households (54% of all households), we estimate. That will grow to 78.2 million households (57.9%) in 2026.
Right now, 143.8 million people (42.7% of the population) use smart TVs at least once a month. That will grow to 158.6 million (45.8%) in 2026.
42.4% of seniors 65+ use connected TVs in 2022, and we estimate that will grow to 46.7% of all seniors in 2026.

The bigger picture: More and more care options are shifting to the home as providers and insurers shift to value-based care models and look for the most cost-effective venue to deliver care.

Telehealth is a major component in this movement. In 2025, 116.6 million US adults (43.3% of the population) will use it, we estimate.

Boomers and the silent generation are already using telehealth, per Kantar MARS data shared with us.

23% of boomers and 24% of silents said they’ve used telehealth via a smartphone, tablet or computer in the past 12 months.
Turning on the TV for telehealth visits should be a no-brainer.

Our take: The senior population is an easy target for smart TV telehealth programs, as people age 65+ spend an average of 5.18 hours a day watching TV, per Insider Intelligence—more than any other age group. But the convenience won’t be lost on younger adults, particularly multigenerational households where time is short and care may be hard to access.