The West Wireless Health Institute has appointed its first chief executive officer: Don Casey, the former worldwide chairman for Johnson & Johnson's comprehensive care group. At WWHI, Casey will help the Institute execute its goal of serving as a catalyst for wireless health innovations, technology incubation, advocacy and education. Casey will help forge and execute the Institute's global strategy and collaborative efforts across medicine, engineering, technology and business.

“I’ve always been fascinated with being on the cutting edge,” Casey told the San Diego Union Tribune in a recent interview, “and I really think that over the next 10 years, you’re going to see medicine go the same way you saw entertainment or financial services go, which is going to be much more data-intense.”

In Casey's previous role he managed Johnson & Johnson's cardiovascular, diagnostic, diabetes and vision care global franchises. Casey led the company's chronic disease management strategy, which included patient-centric solutions and innovations with medical device offerings for diabetes and cardiovascular disorders.

“This is a business problem we’re trying to solve,” WWHI Chairman Gary West told the Tribune. “Therefore, we’re going to bring in people mostly that have been in the health care private sector that really understand the health care problem from every possible side.”

Casey's background in consumer healthcare products at least partially points to the West Wireless Health Institute's ultimate vision for wireless health. While the Institute's first wireless health startup, Corventis, is currently focused on developing a wireless sensor for use inside of care facilities, the product could be very effective in the consumer market in the future. Casey's consumer health background for diabetes and even contact lenses should serve to drive the wireless health industry toward consumer health.

For more on Casey's appointment as CEO of the West Wireless Health Institute, read this press release (PDF)