Bakul Patel in 2016, when he was the associate director for digital health in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health [FDA photo by Michael Ermarth]
Patel became senior director, global digital health strategy and regulatory for Google Health earlier this month, he said on LinkedIn.
Patel recounted highlights of his “incredible journey since 2008” at the FDA, including the introduction of functionality-based regulations in the FDA’s mobile medical apps guidance, working with international agencies to define and regulate software-as-a-medical-device (SaMD), developing the Digital Health Software Precertification (Pre-Cert) Program and launching the Digital Health Center of Excellence.
Patel had only been in his latest role at FDA since February, previously serving as director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.
In his new role at Alphabet (Nasdaq:GOOGL) subsidiary Google, he said he will support Google Health’s mission “To Help Billions of People Be Healthier” as he builds a digital health and regulatory strategy in health teams throughout the company.
“As a ‘technology person’ first (before becoming a policy wonk FDA), working on leading-edge solutions has been a key focus throughout my career,” he said on LinkedIn this week. “This technology-oriented mindset has continued to guide my efforts towards helping turn digital health from a hopeful concept to a reality. Throughout my tenure at FDA, my biggest north star has been to make digital healthcare accessible and equitable for all. I have spoken often about the potential of digital health to be a gamechanger in heralding a new era for healthcare generally — one that is ubiquitous and poised to deliver care to all individuals, including preventing and predicting disease and keeping people healthy and out of the hospital.”
For more on Google’s health care efforts, read Medical Design & Outsourcing‘s recent interview with Alissa Hsu Lynch, Google Cloud’s global lead for medtech strategy and solutions.
Patel further explained his next chapter at Google Health:
“The power of technology, when coupled with a unified digital health and regulatory approach, promises to transform people’s lives. I want to continue to build a world in which we use technology to engage individuals, caregivers and communities globally in care delivery, enabling us to reach populations that have long been overlooked, marginalized and underserved. A world where we use digital information and technology to identify and predict the onset of disease before symptoms appear, literally changing, improving, and protecting people’s lives.
“Google’s commitment to help billions of people be healthier aligns with my goal to move digital healthcare and technology forward together. This means building upon the work Google has already done in health — from providing authoritative COVID-19 information during the pandemic, to using AI and machine learning to build and provide solutions for caregivers and communities to tackle the world’s toughest health challenges.”
