Seventy-five percent of healthcare providers, patients, payers and technology enablers surveyed by Cambridge Consultants said that connected health preventative practice could cut healthcare expenses by 40 percent. Cambridge Consultants conducted the survey in conjunction with the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC).

The two groups define a "Connected Health" approach like so: "An integrated Connected Health approach advocates an end to end solution, giving patients control as well as responsibility and connecting them with a wide network of healthcare professionals and online applications. This integration can be achieved through a range of technologies, beginning with Electronic Medical Records and expanding outside clinical settings via connected devices such as glucometers and inhalers. This approach can improve medication adherence, enable early detection, reduce long-term treatment costs, and improve patient access to, and interaction with, healthcare providers."

The survey also points to recent metrics recently published by PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute, which found the U.S. healthcare system's wasteful spending tab is about $1.2 trillion a year, that's about half of the $2.3 trillion healthcare spending total. PwC said that the most wasteful areas include defensive medical practices ($210 billion) which include inappropriate or unnecessary tests and procedures, followed by inefficient healthcare administration (up to $210 billion) and, finally, the cost of care resulting from preventable conditions ($100 billion).

For more from the CC and MassMEDIC survey:
Read the full press release here