Connected Health: Big Business and Big Impact on Healthcare

Technology connects patients and healthcare

The future of healthcare, according to many experts, will be a connected, or integrated, model that encompasses a number of different technologies, including apps, EMR, telehealth, mHealth, wearable devices, etc.

We're steadily moving toward that future.  If you take a look around you will see that connected health is already becoming a growing part of many of our lives.  Technologies continue to improve and provide a more seamless interface between patients, healthcare providers, payers, and health information technology companies.  Whether looking up health information online, using an app to manage a health condition or having a real-time video call with a doctor, connected health enables people  to be more proactive in managing their health while helping to provide them with more efficient health care.

Research  of U.S. broadband households by Parks Associates has found :

• Over 50% with access to online services such as prescription refills, real-time video calls with a doctor, or appointments use these services
• 27% have used a provider or insurer website, averaging about 2.5 visits per year
• 25% have used a health app, with usage averaging almost four times per year
• 13% are interested in virtual tools to manage medications, and 15% are interested in post-surgery virtual monitoring

According to Harry Wang, Director, Health & Mobile Product Research, Parks Associates, "2014 will be a pivotal year for consumer-centric healthcare solutions and services. The healthcare technology market is benefiting from a favorable policy environment, a groundswell of consumer interest, a brisk innovation cycle, and a growing eagerness among payers and providers for effective consumer/patient engagement."

Connected health will continue to rapidly expand and touch more of our lives in more ways in just a few years.

Harry Wang also states, "The tech industry is in a stage of intense experimentation and innovation as companies try to find successful strategies to transform the health industry."

Additional research by Parks Associates finds:

• The number of U.S. households using video consultations for their care needs will increase to 22.6 million in 2018.

• By 2018, almost 135 million healthcare consumers will benefit from care practices following the accountable care principles. Among them, almost 20 million will be eligible to participate in a physician/hospital-led care program responsible for coordinating all their health needs and  managing multiple chronic conditions.

• The connected health and wellness solution market will generate almost $8 billion in revenue in 2018 from selling hardware, software/apps, and wellness services.

• The market for senior-focused independent living solutions will grow 11% annually on average for the next five years, generating $1.4 billion in service revenues in 2018.

To learn more about the best strategies to engage consumers and create a healthcare experience with technology that is enjoyable, convenient, and friction-free, consider attending Parks Associates  upcoming ConnectedHealth Summit: Engaging Consumers, September 4 - 5, 2014, in San Diego.

The event will examine strategies to drive increased adoption and usage of connected health solutions and services while reducing wasteful healthcare spending and improving care quality.  Keynote speakers will be Ascension Health, Humana Wellness, Kaiser Permanente, Qualcomm Life, and Walgreens.

If you would like to read more about Connected Health, PharmaVOICE  published a special March 2014 issue focusing solely on the topic.  You can access it here.

Can the Crowd Reinvent Pharma?

Is Crowdsourcing Viable for Pharma

How did Wikipedia put encyclopedia companies out of business? How did Netflix improve its recommendations to users? Why does Linux dominate web server operating systems? How did amateurs stomp the predictions of geological experts in gold mining speculation? Is there intelligent life in outer space? These are all examples of crowdsourcing, albeit in different flavors.

Can thousands of people solve problems faster and cheaper than a team of bona-fide experts? That is the promise of crowdsourcing.

There is no single magic formula for crowdsourcing success. Here is one common method.

1)      Define the problem

2)      Ask people for solutions

3)      Share all available data (often huge amounts of data)

4)      Examine the submissions

5)      Award the prize(s)

6)      Implement the solution(s)

Can crowdsourcing work for pharma and help improve adherence, patient care programs, and general health and wellness initiatives? According to Duncan Arbour at inVentiv Health and Innovation, we'll find out soon. Check out his article The Sense and Sensibility of Patient Crowdsourcing.

Can crowdsourcing uncover a future blockbuster or help find a cure for a serious disease?

Let’s hear your ideas in the comments.

What Do Mick Jagger, Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Cancer Have in Common?

Mick Jagger Keeps Going Strong

In this episode, Ms. Hammond talks about our aging society and how the industry needs to address its therapies to reflect the differences in age groups, including the old, and the very old.

Thought Leader: Melissa Hammond MSN, GNP, Managing Director, Snowfish LLC

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The Affordable Care Act - an Election Lightning Rod

By Denise Myshko, Managing Editor, PharmaVOICE

The major reforms contained in the Affordable Care Act are not scheduled to take effect until 2014, but the legislation faces legal and political challenges. In March, the U.S. Supreme Court heard appeals related to the legislation, and the court’s ruling is expected late June.

At issue is the individual mandate, which would require everyone to have health insurance either through an employer or through a state-based insurance exchange. During three days of arguments, critics argued the individual mandate was unconstitutional.

Studies from several experts — Center for American Progress (CAP), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Lewin Group, and the RAND Corp. — have examined the impact of severing the individual mandate but retaining the market reforms of the Accountable Care Act. They all find that doing so would result in a dramatic rise in the insured population and increase health insurance premiums compared with health reform with a mandate.

The trade group America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) has posted a chart comparing these experts’ predications here:

http://www.ahipcoverage.com/2012/03/23/the-link-the-impact-of-aca-market-reforms-without-a-mandate/

Whatever the court’s verdict, healthcare reform will be a key issue in the November presidential and congressional elections. Experts say even if parts of the healthcare reform law are overturned, the momentum for change in healthcare will continue. (Download the PDF article: Healthcare and the Political Landscape)

States are continuing to work to create health insurance exchanges, which become effective January 2014. Starting in 2014, if an employer doesn’t offer insurance, individuals will be able to buy it directly in an Affordable Insurance Exchange, a new transparent and competitive insurance marketplace where individuals and small businesses can buy affordable and qualified health benefit plans.

Stay tuned as the court’s decision unfolds.

Visit www.americanhealth2012.com for an expanded look at the intersection of healthcare and politics.

Take Health Care off the Mainframe - a TED Talk

Dan Limbach

Intel is working on new ideas in health care.

Are there better ways to treat patients? Are we treating the illness rather than using technology to predict and prevent health issues before they become a bigger problem.

At TEDMED, Eric Dishman makes a bold argument: The US health care system is like computing circa 1959, tethered to big, unwieldy central systems: hospitals, doctors, nursing homes. As our aging population booms, it's imperative, he says, to create personal, networked, home-based health care for all.

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