(Bloomberg) — Medtronic Inc. is looking beyond medical devices, seeking to expand within hospitals and connect directly with patients as it moves into a health-services industry projected to grow as Obamacare expands coverage.
The world’s biggest maker of devices to regulate the heart’s rhythm signaled its move last week with its $200 million acquisition of Cardiocom, which provides monitoring services to patients with chronic diseases. It is pursuing contracts with about a dozen large European medical centers to run their cardiac catheterization laboratories, where hearts are examined and stents are implanted to prop open arteries.
