Wireless health by the numbers
 As summer draws to a close the once budding wireless health industry now has a substantial crop of statistics to pick through thanks to a number of recent surveys and research reports just published by various firms. Here’s a look at wireless health by the numbers:
Wearable wireless sensors are set to grow to more than 400 million devices by 2014, according to ABI Research.
A recent survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers found that 73 percent of consumers would use biometric electronic remote monitoring services to track their chronic condition or vital signs.
The revenue from worldwide sales of WiFi-enabled healthcare products will reach nearly $5 billion in 2014, according to a recent report from ABI Research.
Global wireless sensor networking services will be a $6 billion market worldwide by 2012, according research firm ON World.
According to a recent report from Parks Associates, the U.S. market for wireless home-based healthcare applications and services will grow at a five-year cumulative annual growth rate of over 180 percent and become a $4.4 billion industry in 2013.
About 70 percent of physical education programs in K-12 schools use pedometers, while about 39 percent of physical education programs in K-12 schools use heart rate monitors, according to a recent survey conducted by NASPE and Polar.
The Center for Connected Health estimates that there is about 20 or 30 percent of the population where text message reminders will be very powerful.
An “unofficial study from New York and New Jersey” that found that five in seven Medicaid patients carry a smartphone.
It has truly been a summer of numbers and many of them point to a big opportunity for wireless healthcare.
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HealthVault’s George Scriban talks wireless health
Mobihealthnews recently caught up with HealthVault’s Senior Global Strategist George Scriban to discuss how HealthVault fits into the wireless health discussion. Can mobile application developers synch their apps directly to HealthVault? Will Windows Mobile create apps that integrate to HealthVault? How does a medical device maker enables its users to send information to HealthVault? Scriban answered these questions and more in a wide-ranging interview that also covered whether HealthVault could be offered as a bare bones EHR for physicians, how HealthVault drives revenue within the health solutions group at Microsoft and hints at the global health market as the key opportunity for wireless in healthcare.
Mobihealthnews: At various events, many times I’ve heard Microsoft executives stress that HealthVault is a “platform” and not a personal health record (PHR). Can you provide a brief overview of HealthVault to start as a reference point?
Scriban: The problem that HealthVault is designed to address is one that we have heard from consumer for a long, long time: The information that they need to manage their healthcare and their families’ healthcare is fragmented. There was no one place to connect it all. HealthVault addresses that issue specifically by being able to connect to clinical systems, devices and application so that you have a single place to collect, store and share your personal health information. It’s also a platform for action around your healthcare. Since it is a platform it has these interfaces that allow third parties like the Mayo Clinic, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and a number of other third party solutions providers to deliver services that really allow you to act on your specific health information. HealthVault gives you guidance, for example, based on your specific condition like your blood pressure instead of just general guidance information that might include an average range. That’s where HealthVault plays as a platform. It’s a platform for applications and it’s a platform where consumers can store all their health information.
I noted you said HealthVault is a consumer play — how does Microsoft reach consumers? I know HealthVault’s partner AllOne Mobile works through payers and another PHR provider, Dossia, works to offer its PHR through employers. How does Microsoft reach out to potential HealthVault users? Employers? Payers? Direct-to-consumer? Continue >>
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Kvedar: Big future for text messages in HC
In a wide-ranging interview with Mobihealthnews, the Center for Connected Health’s Founder and Director Dr. Joseph Kvedar recently discussed the center’s various wireless health programs, belief in text messages for healthcare, assessment of the likely early adopters of wireless health services and the need to not lose sight of the challenges facing this emerging industry.
Mobihealthnews: While many readers may already be familiar with the Center for Connected Health at Partners, can you give a brief overview of the Center’s work and raison d’etre?
Kvedar: Sure, our goal is to provide care to patients where the patient is and when the patient needs it, which is to say: outside of traditional care settings like at work or in the home place. This is very consistent with the vision of mobile applications since they too follow the patient. We also have a second goal, which is to give the patient or the consumer the tools that they can use to be their own provider whenever possible. They are a very complementary set of goals.
To accomplish these goals, we have four design principles that we apply:
The first is accurate collection of data (usually physiological information): blood pressure, glucose, step counts, that kind of thing. The second principle is sharing that information back with you in a way that is meaningful to you in the context of your illness. The third component is coaching and the term coaching is very broad to us. It could include sending a reminder to a person or contact with a human being. The idea is you take that behavioral and physiologic data and arm a coach with the same data you are giving the patient and it turns out to be very powerful. The fourth is connecting that information to a healthcare provider when one is needed.
We have programs in a number of chronic illnesses: heart failure is our most advanced program. For diabetes we have an up and coming, growing program. We have done a lot of interesting things with high blood pressure, both in terms of our use as a provider but also in terms of in the market place as an employee benefit. We have a program up and coming in activity monitoring and weight control. Down the road we will be working on mental health, depression and so forth.
That’s a very quick fly by of what we do.
Are these programs still pilots in the development phase or are they commercially launched? Can you drill down on some of these programs and how far along they are? Continue >>
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Aetna connecting mobile apps to its PHR
“If we have learned one thing, it’s that we need to leverage existing devices,” Aetna’s head of eHealth Product Management, Dan Greden said during his presentation at the World Healthcare Congress’ Wireless Health event in Boston last week. Aetna has more than 19 million customers for its medical insurance plans.
“A very good example is the iPhone as exercise tracker,” Greden explained. “Someone asked me earlier why I carry a BlackBerry, well, that’s because it’s the device Aetna has deemed safe enough for my corporate email.”
Greden said because of its accelerometer, the iPhone is a better tool for exercise tracking. iPhone’s accelerometer is “the same technology” found in many of today’s better exercise trackers, including those created by Nike, Greden said. The iPhone has better technology than those simple $20 dollar pedometers, it has sophisticated exercise tracking abilities, he said.
“The opportunity [with the iPhone] is we don’t have to ask [iPhone users] to wear another device to do this we can tap into their existing device they are already wearing,” Greden said. “Just add an app to it. Last I checked there were half a dozen iPhone apps that we are working on integrating now.”
Greden said Aetna is working to connect these apps to its online personal health record portal so its patients can track their activity and then send that data up to their Aetna PHR. Continue >>
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Notes from the Clinic: The Blausen Human Atlas
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by Iltifat Husain, MD/MPH student, MS IV and
Yousif Alkadhi, MD, PGY1
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One of the toughest aspects of medicine is communicating medical conditions and procedures to patients who have limited medical knowledge through the use of only words. With clinic times becoming shortened, this communication is often under strain. The new 2.0 version of the Blausen Human Atlas application aims to help providers with this type of communication. This app allows medical professionals access to a vast library of 3D video animations and images that aid in explaining medical conditions to laypersons.
The Blausen Human Atlas, made by Blausen Medical Communications, and available in the App Store for $19.99, has been in the AppStore for a few months, but the new 2.0 version is a big update. In their description of the Human Atlas in the App Store they state that the recently released 2.0 version includes 150 3D animations, a medical glossary with over 1,500 terms, 1,200 detailed still images, 360 degree rotatable 3D human figures, and the ability to purchase additional smaller atlases. Of note, this is not a stand alone application and an Internet connection is required in order to access the medical glossary, images, and videos. In the following review, we’ll go over a brief summary of how the app works and how applicable it is to healthcare settings using our own experiences with the application over the past few days. Continue >>
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Google Health gets mobile app for asthma
Application developer company Ringful announced that its newest application, Asthma Journal, is now available for the iPhone platform. The company also claims it’s the first app to integrate with the Google Health personal health record. The application is free.
Asthma Journal enables uses to track and report whether they are wheezing, coughing or tight in the chest. The user also tracks the severity of its their symptoms. The app then sends the entries to the user’s Google Health account so the patients, caregivers and/or physicians can review the data in aggregate.
Next steps for the app? Microsoft HealthVault integration should come with the app’s next update, according to CEO Michael Yuan. The CEO also wants to provide integration with Dossia, which is a consortium of large employers that aim to provide their employees and other dependents with an “independent, lifelong health record.”
Is this the first of many Google Health integrated apps?
ALSO: If you want to learn more about Ringful, be sure to attend our one-day wireless healthcare summit co-located at CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment in San Diego, October 8th. Ringful’s Michael Yuan will be discussing Google Health’s role for mobile health applications and services. Check out our dedicated site for: MobiHealthNews Presents: Everywhere Healthcare.
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Sussing out Weight Watchers’ app competition
David Kirchhoff, Weight Watchers’ president and CEO announced yesterday that Weight Watchers will soon submit an iPhone application to Apple in an effort to provide “convenience and information on demand to further [members'] weight-loss success and to further modernize the Weight Watchers’ brand.”
Weight Watchers is one of the most recognizable brands in the consumer health industry, but do they need an iPhone app? As you might expect, nearly all of the most downloaded applications in the Health & Fitness category in the AppStore are nutrition, exercise and/or weight loss-related. The WW app would have to compete with the many free or cheap apps already popular among iPhone users. The Weight Watchers app will be a free offering, but only for current Weight Watchers members, which begs the question: How many Weight Watchers members have iPhones?
Since Weight Watchers’ aim seems to be to provide a mobile offering for its existing members, as opposed to using an iPhone app as a means to attract new members (a free or cheap app available to any iPhone user would be the strategy there), the company would do well to consider a more horizontal approach to its mobile offering so all of its mobile phone-equipped members can take advantage of it. Why not offer a text message based service whereby members can text in the number of points they are consuming to their online database? Members could also text in their weight each time they step on the scale. Weight Watchers could, in turn, provide encouragement or reminders via text message to all its members. Continue >>
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The Health Uprising: A Revolution is Coming
I have talked in the past how health care and technology is the 10 year trend. I won’t retell that story, but you can see my thoughts here. It is truly a topic where the reach consistently exceeds the grasp.
Technology once again plays a big role in the Obama health care reform plan with the multi-faceted goals of modernizing the system to lower cost and improve quality while also working to improve prevention and management of chronic diseases which (by many estimates) accounts for 80 percent of total costs. These are very lofty goals.
Technology plays a vital role in driving efficiency across the entire continuum of care. The major players driving this “reform” are many and including your usual suspects of government, corporations, policymakers and the requisite lobbyists and special interest groups.
It seems hard to fathom that something so large and unwieldy could bring about an immediate and lasting change that led to consumers getting better care faster. Continue >>
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Survey: 39% of PE classes use heart monitors
According to a recent survey of K-12 teachers conducted by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and Polar, 51 percent of teachers said technology increases student motivation during physical education classes. The survey also found that 59 percent of teachers said that technology helps teachers better communicate with the school and district administrators about students’ overall health and fitness. About 60 percent of teachers used the data from health technology like pedometers, heart rate monitors or other devices for their assessment and grading. Here are the commonly used technologies, according to the survey:
-70 percent of PE programs use pedometers.
-39 percent use heart rate monitors.
-32 percent use exercise games like Dance Dance Revolution.
A total of 1,375 physical education teachers participated in Polar’s survey, which was conducted between between May 28 and June 15, 2009. Of those teachers 1,164 K-12 physical education teachers completed the survey. Polar noted in its press release that childhood obesity rose 37 percent between 1998 and 2006, according to a recent CDC report. Continue >>
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1st patient for St. Jude’s wireless pacemaker
A patient at St. Francis Hospital in Rosyln, New York, Carol Kasyjanski, 61, has become the first recipient of St. Jude Medical’s wireless-enabled pacemaker, which the FDA approved in July. Kasyjanksi’s routine check-ups are significantly shorter now because the doctor can finish about 90 percent of the work before she arrives thanks tothe data transmitted from the pacemaker to its online portal.
Dr. Steven Greenberg, the director of St. Francis’ Arrhythmia and Pacemaker Center, said the new technology would likely become the gold standard for pacemakers. The remote monitoring device connects to the server “at least” once a day to upload data or any alerts.
“In the future, these pacemakers may be placed not just for people with slow heartbeats. We may be monitoring high blood pressure, we may be measuring glucose, we may be monitoring heart failure,” Greenberg said. ”There are literally dozens of physiological parameters that now, with this wireless technology, we can leverage for the future of monitoring. So it is not just a rhythm monitor but a disease monitor.”
For more, check out the original report here.
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Shorts: GPS-enabled fitness still going strong
Point-of-care educational videos iPhone app: Houston-based Blausen has introduced its Blausen Human Atlas 2.0 iPhone app. The company created the app with help from CodeMorphic, an iPhone application developer. The app provides 3D videos for point-of-care education for 150 common medical conditions and treatments. More
Fitness – most resilient GPS market in tough economic times? Location-based (GPS) technology company Garmin reported its second quarter results recently and during the investors’ call, Garmin Chairman and CEO Dr. Min Kao, noted that the outdoor/fitness segment of its product portfolio has been the ”most resilient business in this down economy.” More
Twittering during childbirth: Sara Morishige Williams, the wife of Twitter founder Evan Williams, twittered while at the hospital during her child’s birth: ”Dear Twitter, My water broke. It wasn’t like Charlotte in Sex and the City,” @sara said. One blogger wonders whether Twitter should be allowed in the delivery room as reportedly more expectant fathers and some mothers are Twittering during childbirth to update families and friends. Any reason why not? More
Paying the doctor via iPhone: Zepherella has added an iPhone app pilot to its online service, which aims to give physicians and patients an efficient and stress-free way to complete payment transactions online or through the iPhone. More
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The Inaugural Medical Device Connectivity Conference & Exhibition
September 10-11, Boston
This innovative conference and exhibition focuses on the integration of medical devices and information systems. The conference will feature in-depth coverage of strategy and implementation as well as legal/regulatory issues. Keynote speakers include: Tim Gee, Medical Connectivity Consulting and Julian Goldman, MD, Partners HealthCare Biomedical Engineering.
Register here
ATA Mid-Year Meeting
Sept. 24-25, Palm Springs
The Third Annual ATA Mid-Year meeting is one great meeting combining two great tracks & showcasing the latest in products and services:
Track I:
Cutting Edge and Off-The-Shelf Technology: Making the Right Decisions
Track II:
4th Annual Pediatric Telehealth Colloquium
Register here
MobiHealthNews PRESENTS:
Everywhere Healthcare
October 8, San Diego
With today’s wireless networks, the doctor is always in. While connecting patients to caregivers has never been easier, the search for the right business models for wireless health devices and services has just begun.
Don’t miss your appointment at the MobiHealthNews Presents: Everywhere Healthcare event during International CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2009!
OPEN TO ALL REGISTERED ATTENDEES! There is NO separate registration fee for this event and it is included in ALL registration packages. Please see registration form for details.
Register here
CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2009
October 6-9, San Diego
No matter what your business is – healthcare, entertainment, fleet management or financial planning – wireless can transform how you do business. International CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment brings this possibility to life. With a focus on applications, network architecture and technologies such as LBS, machine-to-machine and WiMAX (just to name a few), this international event brings a community of users, carriers, developers and manufacturers together to generate dialogue, share ideas and debate the economics of MOBILE BUSINESS.
Register here
Health 2.0
October 6-7, San Francisco
With nearly a hundred speakers and plenty of new healthcare demos and technologies on display on stage and in the exhibit hall, you’ll get a sweeping overview of the ways that information technology and the web are changing healthcare. We’ll be looking at the "traditional" Health 2.0 areas like vertical search, online social networks and tools for consumers. But the conference will also be focusing on how new technologies are connecting patients and clinicians, and examining the impact of Health 2.0 technologies on patients lives.
Register here
6th annual Connected Health Symposium
October 21-22, Boston
Up from Crisis: Overhauling Healthcare Information, Payment and Delivery in Extraordinary Times
hosted by the Center for Connected Health at Partners HealthCare
Healthcare will have its renaissance when it moves beyond the hospital and clinic and into the day-to-day lives of patients and consumers. The Connected Health Symposium asks how information technology — cell phones, computers, the Internet and other tools — can help people manage chronic conditions, maintain health and wellness, and age with independence.
Use invitation code mobihealth to receive a $100 discount!
Register here
TEDMED 2009
October 27-30,
San Diego
The fifth in a series created by Marc Hodosh and Richard Saul Wurman, TEDMED celebrates conversations that demonstrate the intersection and connections between all things medical and healthcare related: from personal health to public health, devices to design and Hollywood to the hospital. Together, this encompasses more than twenty percent of our GNP in America while touching everyone’s life around the globe.
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