"As Accountable Care Organizations and medical homes start thinking about alternative quality contracts that reimburse for keeping patients healthly and not for delivering more care, it's likely that wellness care will include home telemonitoring between clinician visits," Dr. John Halamka, Chair of the US Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) and Co-Chair of the HIT Standards Committee, wrote in his blog Life as Healthcare CIO. "Devices will include electronic scales for measuring fluid retention in CHF patients, blood pressure measurement for refractory hypertension, glucometers for diabetics, and home spirometry for patients with COPD or asthma."

That's how Halamka introduced his review of the WiThings wireless scale, which calculates body mass index, body fat, lean mass and weight before sending the data to a user account online. It can also update a user's Google Health, Microsoft HealthVault or other health portals. Of course, there's even an iPhone app. Halamka points out that the scale makes an educated guess as to which user is on the scale based on prior history.

Halamka lauds WiThings for the team's efforts in making the data the device collects interoperable with a number of different portals and points to the offering as an example of the future of consumer connected health products.

Read Halamka's full WiThings review here