Connected health is a vision of the efficiencies that technology can bring to healthcare to improve care and reduce costs.

In 10 years, connected health will be the way health is managed. Connected health is a vision of the efficiencies that technology can bring to healthcare to improve care and reduce costs.

According to Accenture, connected health is healthcare delivery that leverages the systematic application of healthcare IT to facilitate the accessing and sharing of information. Connected health encourages communication and collaboration among all of the various stakeholders involved in a patient’s health. The goal: higher quality, more accessible, and cost-effective healthcare.

A connected care ecosystem is incredibly valuable for all stakeholders, experts say.

“When electronic patient information can be available to hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, long-term care facilities, rehabilitation facilities, out-patient surgery centers, etc., the opportunity to more quickly and holistically review treatment and test results to date will help physicians to make better decisions about treatment moving forward, give rise to fewer tests, reduce errors and much more, thereby improving outcomes and reducing costs," says Rob Rebak, chairman and CEO of QualityHealth.

He says this is less about mobile technology and more about mobility of patient data, ­which will significantly reduce fragmentation in the healthcare system and provide more concrete care coordination.

“With EHRs gaining rapid adoption — 78.4% of office-based physicians used some type of EHR system last year — we’re moving toward having access to our own complete health information regardless of where we are," Mr. Rebak says. “The benefits of having all patient data live and in one place are enormous. They include: instant access to comprehensive health histories, for example MRI review on the fly; just-in-time contact with a healthcare professional when and where you need one; streamlined communication when sharing records or ordering and receiving labs or other diagnostic tests; reduced error rates in prescriptions and other orders; better patient follow-up on unfilled prescriptions; improved prompts for protocol compliance; and greater involvement with patients after they leave doctors’ offices.”

Because of the complexity of the healthcare system, it is likely to emerge in fitful steps, constrained by regulations and vested interests but championed by empowered patients, tech-engaged physicians, and visionary entrepreneurs, says David Ormesher, CEO, closerlook.

“For 2014, the buzzword will be the ‘Internet of Things,’ " he says. “With the proliferation of smartphones, sensors, and wearable devices all connected to the Internet, there will be an explosion of personalized data that will change how healthcare is delivered. Using the front stage/back stage rubric, the front stage will include these consumer and patient input sources, EMR/EHR interfaces, and content and feedback platforms such as content websites, social media, and personal data visualization to track and monitor health. These front-stage components will serve as parts of a real-time personal health decision support system."

To support this personal health platform, Mr. Ormesher says the back stage will need to evolve as an open architecture, cloud-based system that can provide integration and ultimately sense-making of all this data, both on the personal and the public health levels.

“Mobile infrastructure, data exchanges, and provider networks, such as ACOs and HIEs will be the backbone of the back stage, providing privacy, security, and connectivity,” he says. “But to be successful, it can’t be a centralized database. Open source and agile software development shows us that to be nimble and responsive, the back stage needs to be built on a distributed architecture."

This connected health world will require a coordinated top-down and bottoms-up approach, Mr. Ormesher says.

“From the top, payers, large providers, regional HIEs, PBMs, labs, and governmental agencies are largely being guided by the ACA to create the transparency and interoperability of data, and this is beginning to allow the ability to compare and contrast procedures based on health outcomes," he says. “By democratizing data, the industry is reducing the information asymmetries that have always been present in healthcare, giving patients and physicians better insight. In the bottoms-up approach, developers of new mobile apps, health trackers, and online patient communities will need to write to open standards to allow exchange and integration of personalized data to patient-controlled dashboards. Using individual permission protocols, patients can choose to share their data with caregivers, healthcare professionals, and their support community, and ultimately as anonymous data to the cloud-based data repositories where it can contribute to public health trend analysis."

Mr. Rebak says despite the “big brother" feel, physicians will adopt these technologies eventually because of the huge potential to remove error and uncertainty, improve patient follow-up, drive care outcomes, and, of course, get paid. These solutions are going to revolutionize the doctor-patient relationship and will drive significant value for patients and providers.

“This is going to change the face of the physician store-front," he says. “Physicians may well have to support separate staffs, and even co-pay schedules, to handle their physical practice and their virtual practice. This new level of expected service is going to drive an explosion in remote/telehealth/on-demand healthcare. Ultimately, these changes will be positive for the healthcare system overall. Just-in-time care drives better and earlier triage, removes wasteful use of emergency room, and other resources and will improve the overall cost efficiency of healthcare delivery."

Telemedicine initiatives have grown in scope and popularity over the past two decades, because they consistently deliver results as providers face growing costs, declining reimbursement, an aging population, and demand is quickly outpacing clinician capacity, says Marc Perlman, global VP, at Oracle Healthcare and Life Sciences.

“Today, more than half of all hospitals in the United States rely on some form of telemedicine, ranging from email correspondence to two-way video consultations," he says. “Recently, the industry has seen an explosion of wireless devices and device-to-data center connectivity, which brings an unprecedented opportunity to expand the impact of telemedicine, particularly around the management of chronic conditions. Just as consumers are dropping traditional landlines in favor of mobile devices, so, too, are healthcare and telemedicine industries as they go wireless, giving rise to innovative mHealth initiatives."

The timing, Mr. Perlman says, could not be better. He points to a recent McKinsey report about the cost of treating chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which now accounts for at least three-quarters of all healthcare spending in developed countries. Additionally, a World Economic Forum study calculates that between now and 2030, the aggregate global cost of treating the five most common, non-infectious diseases — cancer, diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, and mental health disorders — will top $47 trillion. By comparison, the world’s combined gross domestic product was $63 trillion in 2010.

“The benefits of an expanded telemedicine initiative will be seen in the future — optimizing use of clinical resources, reducing the cost of care, and improving outcomes," Mr. Perlman says. “Expanded telehealth initiatives, including mHealth programs, can and must be an important tool in our efforts to improve care and reduce costs. Their potential to transform the delivery of healthcare and change outcomes is unprecedented and continues to grow with each new device."

If the last couple of years have been any indication, the future of telehealth and virtualization of healthcare is promising, says Jeff Meehan, chief commercial officer at MD On-Line.

“The industry is comprised of some of the most innovative people and companies that are constantly coming up with new ways to leverage cutting-edge technology that make healthcare interactions more efficient," he says. “Both doctors and patients see the value in a quick, virtual engagement to address minor issues. In fact, according to Roeen Roashan of IHS, telehealth in the United States will grow to $1.9 billion in 2018 from $240 million today, an annual growth rate of 56%. Much of the dramatic growth in U.S. telehealth will be driven by ACOs."

Milton Chen, CEO of VSee – Telemedicine Video Platform, says telehealth/ telemedicine/telecare will become a regular part of healthcare delivery, from consult-a-doctor kiosks in corner drugstores to tele-NICU units in hospitals to virtual video doctor visits on personal devices.

“Telehealth is the direction we are headed," he says. “This past year has already seen significant growth in the telemedicine and telehealth market due to reforms to telemedicine reimbursement, anticipated effects of the Affordable Care Act, increased use of personal devices, and a more consumer-oriented mentality toward healthcare. More doctors, hospitals, and health systems are all looking for ways to incorporate telehealth into their practices whether it’s creating an online telehealth portal, deploying telehealth apps, or using mobile telemedicine units in remote clinics. Telehealth is becoming the way to make health services more accessible to patients worldwide and to improve the efficiency of healthcare delivery." In fact, experts say mHealth is the future. Increasingly, healthcare needs will be met through  mHealth apps and technology.   “What’s going to make the mHealth adoption proceed more or less smoothly is the user experience," Mr. Chen says. “If we can design for a truly simple mHealth user experience for both providers and patients, then we will see mHealth take off at an exponential speed." There is a push from both physicians and patients to have access to mHealth, says Dr. Sam Pejham, co-founder of Asthma MD and Assistant Clinical Professor at UCSF School of Medicine   “As physicians, we see mHealth as a method of outreach, and perhaps a way to improve healthcare cost-efficiency," he says. “Patients desire self-management of their disease and want to be more involved in their well-being. Also with the new healthcare law, reimbursement in the future is set up for connectivity, and if data can flow directly into a health information exchange (HIE) especially or a central repository, then the services are most likely to be reimbursed. ACOs will be dealing with more patients and with fewer resources. They are going to rely more on technology to keep patients healthy." According to a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit for PwC, 52% of patients say mHealth applications and services will make healthcare more convenient and 48% say they will improve the quality of healthcare. Patients believe that mHealth offers them easier access to care and more control over their own health. But this would involve a substantial, disruptive move away from doctor-directed care and toward a patient-as-consumer model. Clinicians would remain important, but not always the patient’s first option: already, among those who use mHealth services, 59% say these have replaced some visits to doctors or nurses. While patients are pushing for change in healthcare, the PwC survey reveals doctors’ resistance to disruption of their traditional roles. Only 27% encourage patients to use mHealth applications in order to become more active in managing their health; 13% actively discourage this. Doctors are also averse to a fundamental change to the patient’s role and power: 42% of doctors surveyed worry that mHealth will make patients too independent. But doctors are embracing some aspects of mHealth. A 2012 survey of European doctors conducted by Manhattan Research found that 26% owned iPads and spent more than one-quarter of their professional time using them. Its survey in the United States showed that in 2011 30% of surveyed doctors had an iPad, and 28% expected to buy one in the next six months. Doctors are buying into some aspects of mobile technology because it can help meet some of their needs, such as monitoring patient compliance, accessing records, and communicating with colleagues. Interestingly, payers, according to PwC, are not so much interested in pure cost reduction as value for money. Payers are likely to shift even closer to the patient position because they will bear most of the economic consequences if healthcare systems fail to reform. And many payer organizations have launched their own mHealth services. Others have bought popular ones. Aetna, for example, has acquired iTriage, an application with about 5 million downloads that allows customers to research medical symptoms, locate nearby healthcare providers and schedule appointments. Payers are using their influence more actively to support mHealth: 40% encourage patients to let doctors monitor them through such services, compared with just 25% of doctors. This connected health ecosystem will require new types of partnerships among the various stakeholders. One example: Asthma MD and Noble are working in partnership to develop the Asthma MD Lung Performance Peak Flow Meter, a digital and hardware solution for better disease management. “In our case, our meetings frequently include IT professionals, physicians, patients, and even researchers, to get  a comprehensive range of input and to help understand all the issues in order to come up with the best solution that could meet everyone’s needs," Dr. Pejham says. Bridging the interdisciplinary divide requires a need to deconstruct the business environment silos and make digital part of every solution discussion, says Jeff Baker, CEO and founder of Noble, a multisensory product development company. “Digital is not only a marketing conversation, but a complex conversation that must include the full corporate team," he says. The mHealth Market Governments around the world see connected health as a critical and essential means to improve citizens’ access to quality, lower-cost healthcare, according to Accenture. Connected health has gained a high level of acceptance, and there is a prevailing view that without a solid connected health platform, it will be difficult to meet today’s — and future — health challenges. Accenture sites Scotland and Hong Kong efforts as success stories. In Scotland, the Emergency Care Summary (ECS) was launched in 2006. The ECS helps to ensure that clinicians have out-of-hours access to critical information — including basic patient details and a summary of prescriptions, allergies, and adverse drug reactions — to help them deliver safe care within the emergency setting. In 2011, the ECS was accessed 200,000 times a month and was expanded to include an Electronic Palliative Care Summary (ePCS) — detailed information on diagnoses, patient wishes, and anticipatory care plans — and an Electronic Key Information Summary (KIS), which will augment the ECS and ePCS to provide support to patients with long-term conditions and mental health issues across a broader range of clinical situations. In Hong Kong, clinicians use a clinical management system and electronic patient record (EPR), which provides a longitudinal health record for each patient, to deliver more effective and efficient care. In one Hong Kong hospital, data mining techniques are used to identify elderly “at-risk" patients with a high probability for readmission and professionals from a community health call center follow up with those patients after discharge. The program has been successful in detecting problems of patients at the earliest stage and reducing recurrent and unnecessary hospitalization. For elderly diabetic patients, for example, the call center has reduced readmissions by 25%. Industry experts say both the developed and developing world are current markets for mHealth. Mobile healthcare solutions are being deployed more rapidly in emerging markets than in developed economies, according to PwC. In the emerging markets surveyed, patient awareness and expectations of mHealth are, on average, far higher than in developed countries. More patients are already using mHealth: 59% of emerging-market patients use at least one mHealth application or service, compared with 35% in the developed world. Payers and doctors in emerging markets are also more active in mHealth. More payers currently cover the costs of, or plan to pay for, every mHealth-related service in the survey than do their counterparts in wealthier countries. According to PwC, mHealth already has brought about substantial change in the doctor-patient relationship for 27% of emerging-market doctors (compared with 16% in developed countries) and a marked internal restructuring of their workplace for 34% (compared with 19%). Around the world, new technologies are reshaping not only healthcare delivery as we know it, but also the way healthcare providers get information, Mr. Meehan says. “Geographical boundaries are becoming a thing of the past, as virtual engagement takes hold from North America to Asia and everywhere in between," he says. “With the introduction and increasing adoption of EHRs and EMRs, pharma companies are learning that mHealth is the way of the future in more ways than one. For example, Pfizer is leading the way and recently conducted virtual clinical trials that rely solely on electronic rather than face-to-face encounters between researchers and patients. While virtual engagement and mHealth will never completely replace traditional interaction it certainly helps pharma save time and money, providing an added benefit of connecting with doctors and patients when and how they like to be reached." Dr. Pejham says with more than 7 billion mobile network subscriptions worldwide, the mobile communications sector is rapidly gaining traction from a diverse range of vertical sectors. “As healthcare providers seek to maximize their patient outreach while minimizing costs, many view mHealth as the solution to improve healthcare cost-efficiency," he says. “Additionally, many patients desire self-management of their disease and want to be more involved in their well-being. With low-cost handsets and the penetration of mobile phone networks globally, tens of millions of citizens in the developing world that never had regular access to a fixed-line telephone or computer now use mobile devices as daily tools for communication and data transfer. A full 64% of all mobile phone users can now be found in the developing world. So even if their access to healthcare providers is still limited, they can use mHealth to receive: education; remote data collection and monitoring; communication and training for healthcare workers; and diagnostic and treatment support." Napoleon Monroe, managing director at New Directions Technology Consulting, believes the United States leads and can continue to lead mHealth initiatives. The reasons for this include: a large, fairly unified market with a reasonably strong economy; a healthcare system that almost all stakeholders acknowledge needs to be dramatically changed; a history that values entrepreneurial spirit; strong venture and private, including angel, capital resources; less rigidity, corruption, and bureaucracy than in many other countries; an enlightened initial FDA stance on risk-based regulation of mHealth and automated identity and data capture; $15 billion in incentives to date for EMRs; and many years of hard work and commitment on the part of many mHealth stakeholders. “These factors allow the United States to spawn mHealth start-ups better than any other country," he says. “Multinational pharmaceutical companies are now investing heavily in mHealth. This is accelerating U.S. growth and strengthening U.S. leadership." The mHealth market is deceptively broad, says AJ Triano, VP, connected health, at Palio+Ignite. “In the United States, we tend to think of apps and wearables first because that part of the category that aims to empower the patient," he says. “It is accurate to say the quantified self movement is moving mainstream. But, we would be remiss to leave out the mobile basics — text messaging and phone calls." More than 40 million personal health and wellness products are expected to sell in 2013, a figure that will rise to more than 70 million by 2018, according to a recent report by the Consumer Electronics Association, in conjunction with Parks Associates. Product sales and software and service revenues will see the largest growth, generating more than $3.3 billion in revenue in 2013 and more than $8 billion by 2018. The CEA report found that 29% of mobile phone users with health problems would try an easy-to-use device to track their condition and progress towards their goals. Additionally, 27% of mobile phone users would like a personalized plan to help guide them through their journey to better health. Roughly one-half of patients surveyed for a PwC report predict that mHealth will improve the convenience, cost, and quality of their healthcare in the next three years. And six in 10 doctors and payers believe that its widespread adoption in their countries is inevitable in the near future. Yet most experts interviewed for the PwC study, while also convinced that mHealth will eventually become an important part of care provision, expect that adoption will take time. The PwC report stress that for connected health to be successful, solutions — not just technology — are needed. Widespread mHealth adoption requires services and products that appeal to current payers because patients, highly sensitive to price, will provide little income. Impact on Pharma mHealth gives pharma companies a huge opportunity to build communities of engaged, informed, research-ready patients, says Steve Rosenberg, chief operating officer at PHT. “Once companies use mHealth to get a patient anywhere on the wheel of clinical research they can keep that patient engaged and compliant," he says. “Companies will know if a patient is in or out of a trial and they can maintain communication to get better information about their health and the drug in the real world. Companies can build a captive audience in the best sense for further trials, which yield better information." mHealth strategies allow companies to change both the competitive playing field and how the game is played, Mr. Triano says. “It all comes down to generating, surfacing, and using data," he says. “Brands typically duke it out over the usual attributes of the molecule — safety, tolerability, efficacy, and MOA, assuming it is truly novel. But, most often, the competitive battle comes down to price and access, especially in crowded categories where there is marginal differentiation among these attributes." Mr. Triano says mHealth strategies combine growing patient empowerment with technology that captures real-time data in the daily context of life, and with behavior-change programs that use gamification principles to re-educate and reward patients for making positive behavior changes while improving the communication with the HCP. He says think of these programs as complementary services that build on the pharmacological effect of the molecule to create and demonstrate improved outcomes. Mr. Triano adds that the value proposition of molecule plus complementary mHealth services can allow a company to compete more strongly on multiple fronts by delivering greater value to all stakeholders involved in patient care. “The patient/HCP relationship can become a true partnership for care thanks to the exchange of data," he says. “HCPs can leverage that data to potentially satisfy requirements for reimbursement under new outcomes-based reward structures of healthcare reform. Employers could use the generated data to help reduce costs of benefits through incentive programs. Aggregated data could help renegotiate tier-level positioning of the molecule in payer formularies by projecting potential long-term savings in total cost of care due to sustained behavior change. Each of these benefits provides the potential to enhance the positioning of a molecule beyond the merits of the primary endpoint alone. Mr. Rosenberg says the patient’s relationship with the provider is key. “Pharmaceutical companies needs to respect those relationships and build their own relationships of trust with doctors who are tasked with administrating their drugs to protect the best interest of patients and not just themselves," he says. “As personalized medicine becomes more attractive, technology providers have to be agnostic to the collection of data and maintain patient privacy. From a vendor viewpoint, we know how to build the apps, we know about the patient experience, and we provide HIPAA-compliant tools. We know how to communicate with patients and doctors and pharma companies. This makes the data much more valuable. We can be sophisticated in the analysis of data to see if patients are in trouble, if they’re benefiting from the drug, if they need to be contacted, and so forth." Communication gaps between patients and their doctors cause not just inconveniences and frustration, but substandard care, says Brian Loew, co-founder and CEO, Inspire. “The range of patient experiences is broad," he says. “This topic transcends disease states, age, ethnicity, and literacy. While some patients describe their relationship as a partnership, many do not." Anything that makes it easier for patients and their families and caregivers to communicate — even when separated by great distances — and collaborate on patient care, will help patients, Mr. Loew says. “Further, the asynchronous, around-the-clock nature of many mHealth communications means that scheduling conflicts aren’t a barrier," he says. “Being able to share test results and treatment plans and symptoms, and the psychological components of a disease or condition is helpful to both patients and caregivers. The very act of sharing this information is empowering." The goal of an mHealth ecosystem should be to help build engaged patients, says Alyson Connor, president and partner, at MicroMass Communications. “However, much of today’s marketplace focuses narrowly on technology as the starting point," she says. “A more successful approach starts with a broader perspective of the patient, taking into account how patients make decisions about their health and understanding what activates them to be engaged in their healthcare, then exploring how technology can be a powerful vehicle to intercept and support patients at key moments in their health. This more patient-centric foundation calls for key partnerships that include non-technology experts such as behavioral scientists and social psychologists who can contribute valuable context for how technology can become more integrated and accepted into the fabric of patients’ lives." For pharma companies, a well-thought-out mHealth strategy can be instrumental in addressing many challenges in the drug approval process, says Michelle Marlborough, VP, product strategy, at Medidata Solutions. “mHealth solutions enable the collection of more data, more frequently, outside of the clinic, without increasing the cost of monitoring and data cleaning or the burden on clinical trial sites," she says. “In providing this background and supportive data, mHealth solutions can help pharma companies show that a drug is not only effective, but also impactful on a patient’s quality of life." Pharma companies will see reduced cost of monitoring patients in clinical trials driven by mobile tracking technologies, says Kim Ramko, global life science advisory services leader at EY. “Regulations such as the Affordable Care Act in the United States will continue to drive the pharma industry to focus on health outcomes and new reimbursement strategies," she says. “As an example, telemedicine and mHealth options are being reimbursed at higher rates than ever before by the CMS." In addition, Ms. Ramko says, the use of mHealth technologies will also have a significant impact in clinical trials. “Recent FDA guidance on the use of mobile apps should help advance the ability of clinical trial data to be pooled, analyzed, and quantified faster and more affordably," she says. “Moving forward, the patient will no longer have to ask the clinical investigator for their own data from the clinical trial because it is theirs in the app for them to review. As a result, the patient becomes more educated, gains the ability to share this data with their doctor, and ultimately make better health decisions." A recent report from McKinsey stresses that two capabilities will be key for biopharma companies in a connected world: big data and real-world data analytics and new collaboration models and partnerships. New partnerships will be needed to share risk, improve capital efficiency, and speed up business-process evolution and innovation across the value chain. Innovation in social media, mobile health, and big data demands a mix of capabilities no single player could have, so leaders will learn to partner in new ways to ensure their future relevance. Ms. Ramko says organizations must go beyond the traditional partnerships among pharma/biotech, medical device, payers, providers and look to technology and telecommunications companies that can provide the platform.   “The other key partnerships in the ecosystem include regulatory agencies, patient advocacy groups, and companies focused on mining big data for innovation," she says. New Strategies for BioPharma in a ­Connected Health World » Predictive medicine, which comes before the ­medicine: devices, software applications, information, and instrumentation that identify and target the right protocols for care of an individual patient or ­patient subpopulation. » Personalized care, which comes after the medicine: devices and services to monitor and deliver more cost-effective patient care. » End-to-end solutions for biopharma customers, which are services that help deliver desired ­outcomes to payers, employers, and patients. Source: McKinsey Alyson Connor n MicroMass Communications “The goal of an mHealth ecosystem should be to help engage patients." Brian Loew n Inspire “Anything that makes it easier for patients and their family or caregivers to communicate — even when separated by great distances — and ­collaborate on care, will help patients." AJ Triano n Palio+Ignite “The value proposition of molecule plus ­complementary mHealth service can allow a company to compete more strongly on multiple fronts by delivering greater value to all stakeholders ­involved in patient care." Michelle Marlborough ­ Medidata Solutions “For pharma, a well-thought-out mHealth ­strategy can be instrumental in ­addressing the many challenges in the drug approval process." Kim Ramko n EY @KimRamkoEY “Mobile tracking technologies will reduce the cost of monitoring patients in clinical trials." Jeff Meehan n MD On-Line “Around the world, new ­technologies are ­reshaping not only healthcare delivery as we know it, but also the way healthcare providers get information." Rob Rebak n QualityHealth “Physicians will adopt these technologies ­eventually because of the huge potential to ­remove error and uncertainty, improve patient ­follow-up, drive care outcomes, and, of course, get paid." Barriers to Growth in Connected Health » Technology: Technology still presents challenges for mHealth adopters. Both doctors and payers list ­privacy and security concerns. Poor integration also ­impedes uptake. Just 53% of doctors say the mHealth applications and services they use work with their ­organization’s information technology. » Culture: Bringing about change is complex. ­Electronic health records, for example, have been on the cusp of revolutionizing care since 1985, but in most countries they have been unable to break through these broader barriers to change. In fact, 27% of doctors and 26% of payers cite an inherently conservative ­culture as a leading barrier to mHealth. » Size and complexity: Most national health systems are both vast and fragmented. Figuring out the levers of change in one country is not necessarily helpful ­elsewhere, because systems vary markedly. They ­frequently include dominant monopolies, substantial state control, and high costs for and regulatory barriers to new entrants. » Regulations: The highly regulated nature of ­healthcare also hinders innovation. For rapidly ­changing technologies, the problem is frequently either a regulatory void — which increases risk for providers — or the application of inappropriate regulations from earlier technologies: 45% of payers and doctors believe that the latter is holding up mHealth. » Perverse incentives: Perhaps the greatest difficulty for innovation in healthcare is the complex incentive arrangements that have created and continue to ­reinforce current systems. An mHealth product will only be adopted if a stakeholder sees an advantage in ­paying for it. More daunting still is the ability of insiders to fight innovation that they find disruptive. Source: Economist Intelligence Unit and PwC Steve Rosenberg n PHT “mHealth gives pharma companies a huge opportunity to build communities of engaged, informed, ­research-ready ­patients." Milton Chen n VSee “If we can design for a truly simple mHealth user experience for both providers and ­patients, then we will see mHealth take off at exponential speed." Jeff Baker n Noble “Digital is not only a marketing ­conversation, but a complex conversation that must include the full corporate team." Dr. Sam Pejham n Asthma MD “As physicians, we see mHealth as a method of outreach, and perhaps a way to improve healthcare cost-efficiency." Areas of Growth in Connected Health » Integrated systems that blend EMR with new ­methods of communication, remote care, and process management to build seamless systems and ­workflows. There are, for ­example, new clinician and patient interfaces under ­development that will make healthcare data and analytical tools easier to access, navigate and put to good use, and natural language processing and voice recognition ­technologies are being developed that can instantly ­digitize healthcare consultations and integrate them into EMR systems. » Healthcare interventions are redirected away from expensive hospital settings and into people’s homes through telemedicine, remote care, and mobile health. A whole new range of applications — from handheld ­devices to facilitate remote diagnosis to touchscreen ­technologies and “smart" devices (such as “intelligent shirts" that use electrodes and sensors to monitor patients’ vital signs, activity sensors and webcams) — will enable ­remote monitoring and communication. » A transformation in the role of patients managing their own well-being through shared decision-making, condition monitoring, and chronic disease ­management. New, independently developed, mobile healthcare apps are giving people the tools to educate themselves on how to eat well and live well, while ­personal health records (PHRs) and patient portals help them to manage their own care needs. » The potential of genomics to personalize treatment and wellness plans, present clinicians with a powerful range of analytical and diagnostic tools, and enable managers to coordinate care, target resources, and ­improve public health outcomes. Among other ­benefits, this will help identify early — even preventive — interventions where patients have a genetic ­predisposition to certain medical conditions. Source: Accenture

Download PDF