The in-store 5G deployment, which is not yet a guarantee, would begin with two stores this year
According to The Wall Street Journal, Verizon is in talks with Walmart, the U.S.’ largest retail company, about supplying a number of its stores with 5G antennas and other network infrastructure to power new Walmart digital health services for shoppers and employees.
The in-store 5G deployment, which is not yet a guarantee, would reportedly begin with two stores this year. Some of the features of the digital health initiative that 5G would support, would be video chats with doctors and real-time medical data, as well the ability to share patient medical data with the clinic to allow for auto-registration upon arrival.
Walmart is interested in turning some of its stores into medical hubs, designed to bring people in—not just to pick up a prescription, but also to receive treatment and other health services.
Two Walmart stores in Georgia added health clinics last year, and many assume those likely to be the pair of stores that would first get Verizon 5G.
Shoppers would need to install an app on a 5G-enabled phone in order to access the 5G-based features. Once the shopper arrives in the store, the app containing their medical records would sign them in for the clinic, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Of course, a 5G-enabled store would provide additional benefits for shoppers and employees beyond the medical program. In general, a 5G network would improve mobile user experiences within the store, such as alerting management if items need to be restocked or reordered from the supplier.
During an investor call last month, Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon stated, “Health care looks like a big opportunity.”
This would only be one small way in which 5G is transforming the field of medicine. The low latency and high throughput of the next generation of cellular technology could help enable revolutionary medical use cases like remote surgery and patient care, as well as support the development of smart hospitals, including improving pathology services and patient-staff communication.
