Vodafone is to create a new business division targeted at delivering mobile technology into the healthcare sector. The new unit, comprising a team of around ten people, “will focus on healthcare solutions and will work alongside other organisations including pharmaceuticals and government organisations, which can help us to fully understand the needs of healthcare professionals,” CEO Vittorio Colao told delegates at the Mobile Healthcare Industry Summit in London, reports Dow Jones Newswires. “I believe that mobile technology has a significant role to play in the provision of health care, primarily in the simplification of work flows, statistical analysis and record keeping and by giving professional healthcare providers the ability to support lifestyle choices for the chronically ill,” he added.

The new unit will formally open for business at the start of 2010, and is likely to focus on delivering healthcare solutions to major emerging markets such as India and China. According to Marketing Week, Vodafone’s move into healthcare comes a year after its venture capital arm (Vodafone Ventures) made an undisclosed investment in t+ Medical, a firm specialising in the use of mobile technology to transfer patient biometric data as part of mobile healthcare services. Healthcare is one of the key sectors being targeted by the fast-growing machine-to-machine (M2M) mobile segment. Vodafone’s US affiliate – Verizon Wireless – is already active in the market via a joint-venture with Qualcomm.