Verizon Partner's Solution May Have Solved $300 Billion Health-Care Problem

Verizon may not be the first vendor you think of when it comes to tackling problems in the health-care system, but a Massachusetts-based innovation center has partnered with the company in an effort to solve a $300 billion health-care problem in the United States.

SMRxT built out a solution with Verizon that is, for lack of a better term, a smart pill bottle. Medical non-adherence is a hugely expensive issue in the health-care system and, with this technologically advanced distribution system, Verizon and SMRxT want to change that.

The bottle contains not only medicine, but also a scale, cellular module, thermo sensor and accelerometer. That system combines to monitor how much of a medicine is distributed from the bottle, and at what times of day.

The information collected can automatically sync to a secure cloud for access by primary care physicians, caregivers and the primary user.

Verizon's Tim Gorman calls the bottle "a really elegant solution to a big time problem within the health-care industry."

It's one example of how Verizon is teaming up with companies to solve real world problems in a variety of verticals -- not just communications.

"We spend a lot of time collaborating with potential ecosystem partners and companies that are interested in embedding cellular connectivity in non-traditional devices," Gorman said.