CES 2022, held last week in Las Vegas, offered a dazzling display of new technology, toys, and concepts, some of which could benefit healthcare organizations.
Many healthcare providers may have been too busy with the pandemic to visit Las Vegas this past week for CES 2022, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be interested. What happens in Vegas in this case may not stay in Vegas for long.
The announcement by Abbott Chairman Robert B. Ford of a new line of biometric wearables may have grabbed the headlines, but those devices—like pretty much everything else healthcare-related at CES—are targeted at the consumer-facing health and fitness crowd. It will take a while for providers to find a way to apply them to clinical care.
But there was a strong undercurrent of clinical care in this year's event, encouraged by the Consumer Technology Association's efforts to bridge the gap between consumers and providers. And healthcare executives would be wise to pay attention to the trends coming out of Sin City as they map out their digital health strategies.
In addition, vendors are starting to include the healthcare provider in their pitches. What had once been the realm of health and fitness for the worried consumer is now sprinkled with references to "linking up" or collaborating with doctors and nurses, managing chronic conditions with care providers, and offering clinical-grade services.
The Consumer Market Takes a Shot at RPM
For example, several companies offered mobile and wearable devices aimed at the fast-growing remote patient monitoring market, which is designed to enable consumers and their care providers to monitor health at home and collaborate on care management. While many early devices were focused on health and fitness and chronic diseases like diabetes and asthma, the more advanced products are linking them together, often to a telehealth platform, to enable more diverse treatment.
For example, Waltham, MA–based EarlySense unveiled its new InSight+ platform, which officials say was built first on a medical-grade platform and then adapted to consumer use. The platform collects sleep and respiratory data and heart rate, as well as "clinical marker alerts related to heart rate instability and respiratory rate depression," and stores that information in what's called a "Vital Signs Cellular Processing Unit, powered by AT&T IoT."
"With the pandemic still firmly with us, we know we will continue to see an explosion in use cases for patients who want to be cared for at home and for providers who want to incorporate virtual care solutions into their practices in the long-term," company CEO Matt Johnson said in a press release, (which also noted the product is "an investigational device not yet available for sale.")
In displaying at CES, EarlySense and many others are strategically placing themselves in front of the consumer crowd, hoping to gain a groundswell of interest that will convince healthcare organizations to integrate their products into clinical services. The value here is in piquing the public's interest and giving health systems a reason to believe that the devices will push the needle on patient engagement, which has long been an issue for medical-grade wearables.
That's the line being followed by Withings, the France-based developer (with an office in Cambridge, Massachusetts) of a line of smart devices, including watches, sleep monitors, and scales, that has been making a push recently into RPM. The firm, which labels itself "the pioneer of the connected health movement," unveiled an update of its Body Scan smart scale, first introduced in 2009, which now can monitor heart rate, vascular age, and "segmental body composition," including nerve activity.
"With Body Scan, we will turn the morning weigh-in into a sophisticated home health check with access to holistic health data and personal health programs created by medical professionals," company CEO Mathieu Letombe says in a press release. "We will empower our users with the ability to take meaningful actions based on medical-grade data, adding a new dimension to ongoing lifestyle and chronic condition management through the ultimate in-home experience."
Then there's Stevara, a startup based in Charleston, South Carolina, that unveiled BPCorrect. The company, founded by a family physician and general internist, markets its RPM solution as an mHealth app and a clinician portal that can help patients manage their blood pressure with their care providers.
Cara Litvin, MD, one of the company's founders, notes in a press release that BP monitoring isn't always accurate, even in the doctor's office, so the best platform combines home monitoring by the patient with a virtual link to the clinician for care management.
A few years ago that press release would have focused solely on the home monitoring part, but in today's climate the virtual link to a doctor adds new value to the product.
The Smart Home Movement
Withings is one of a number of companies staking their claim to the smart home movement, part of the so-called Internet of Things (IoT), which integrates appliances and other items into the home with sensors and other technology so they can not only be controlled remotely but gather information and send that to an mHealth app or platform for review.
This category has been around for awhile—think smart doorbells, TVs, and thermostats—but is taking off with interest from healthcare, especially organizations that focus on helping seniors and those with disabilities stay at home, as well as those with innovative ideas for the RPM space. They're taking a good look at products like smart refrigerators, which help with diet planning; smart toilets, which can monitor, ahem, daily output; smart doors, which can monitor activity and help track those with memory issues; and smart beds, which can track vital signs and sleep.
For example, there's Caregiver Smart Solutions, a New Jersey–based company that unveiled the Age in Place Core Kit at CES. The telehealth platform uses sensors and AI to track movement and activity, giving caregivers insight into the daily routines of a loves one or patient.
"Designed as a DIY self-installation, smart sensors are placed around the home and monitor habits to understand patterns," company founder Ryan Herd said in an e-mail to the press prior to the conference. "They feed this data to a customizable app that reports critical information including when the person wakes, how often they are eating, taking medicine, and visiting the bathroom, along with movement throughout the home."
One of the bigger names in tech also unveiled a smart home hub. Samsung introduced its SmartThings smart home controller during a virtual keynote, unveiling an 8.4-inch tablet with AI and Bixby voice assistance technology that will "be able to connect to every product within the SmartThings ecosystem." The hub, still very much in development, points to an interest among innovators in creating a telehealth dashboard that will help not only consumers but caregivers manage all devices in one place.
Introducing Artificial Intelligence
The inclusion of AI, or machine learning technology, into consumer-facing technology was a popular trend at CES 2022. Companies in a number of fields, from automotive to entertainment to gaming to healthcare, are advertising the technology in tools that gather, analyze, and "learn from" data, making assumptions that in the past had been handled by humans.
On company looking to use AI to bridge the gap between clinical care and consumer self-care is Cardiomo. At CES 2022, the New York–based company unveiled the Cardiomopatch, billed as an "AI-based holter monitoring system." In an e-mail to the press, the company is basically pitching a medical-grade wearable that has been adapted for consumer use, offering "real-time and remote continuous cardiac monitoring [that] is trusted by clinicians to detect and diagnose many different kinds of irregular heart rhythms" and using AI to process "data in the cloud service helping more accurate disease prevention."
And then there's the Zerema smart pillow, developed by Korea-based Maetel, which integrates AI into a pillow to adjust height and control snoring. According to an e-mail sent to the press prior to CES, the user can monitor sleep patterns through an mHealth app.
Several companies displayed robots this year, with functions that range from working in restaurants and hotels to performing basic household chores to helping people manage their medications, connect with family, friends, and caregivers and even playing games.
Wearables Seize the Day
But for all the talk of platforms and integration, CES 2022 was still all about the technology and toys for the consumer. And there were plenty of wearables to choose from.
A few companies took note of Oura's success to introduce smart rings. California-based Movano, for instance, unveiled the Movano Ring and accompanying mHealth app, which collects biometric data and is designed to help women "help you make connections between cause and effect and understand the correlation between how you feel and various areas of your health." France-based Circular, meanwhile, showcased its Smart Ring, which "focuses on how the user responds to their activities, daily choices, and rhythms and provides personalized recommendations based on the data it gathers rather than just providing metrics and raw data graphs."
Among hundreds, if not thousands, of others displaying their wares, in person or virtually, were the following:
Cubtale, out of Turkey, offers a care coordination platform aimed at tracking an infant's daily care needs, from breastfeeding to medication management to sleep management, through small smart buttons (cubs) that capture data for parents, caregivers, and pediatricians.
Human Touch, a California-based developer of massage chairs, unveiled a new product line that includes access to a "virtual therapist" through voice commands for "a tailored therapeutic experience."
Elidah, out of Connecticut, introduced the Elitone, a digital therapeutic device aimed at helping women living with pelvic floor disorders with their exercises.
Brush, out of France, displayed the Y-Brush, a mouthpiece-shaped electric toothbrush designed to clean one's teeth in 10 seconds flat.
Rockley Photonics, based in California, displayed an array of photonics-based "clinic on the wrist" sensors that attach to the skin and capture a wide range of data, including heart rate, hydration, blood pressure, blood oxygen, alcohol, lactate and glucose indicators, and core body temperature.
The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), based in Taiwan, displayed several innovative devices, including an mHealth device that attaches to a dog's collar and monitors heart rate, respiration, and activity; and a smart mirror that helps its user analyze the strength of specific muscle groups, posture, flexibility, endurance, and balance.
Powercast, out of Pittsburgh, has developed flexible wearables that can be created with a 3D printer and used to track gait, muscle performance, and temperature.
NuraLogix, based in Toronto, unveiled the Aunra Web, a browser-based version of its Affective AI software, which can track "more than 30 health measurements from just a 30-second video selfie."
iNNOVA, a startup out of Italy, unveiled the CheckMED, an RPM platform that includes wearables, an mHealth app, and a telehealth platform and allows caregivers to remotely manage the health of a patient or loved one.
Advanced Human Imaging, based in Australia, showcased FaceScan, a smartphone scanning technology that examines blood flow beneath the skin to measure heart rate and blood pressure, as well as DermaScan, which can detect more than 500 skin conditions, and BodyScan, which can monitor changes to one's body, fat loss, and muscle gain.
Tover, out of Holland, unveiled the Tovertafel, or "Tover Magic Table," a projection-based game system that can be used on any surface and is designed to help seniors and patients living with dementia and intellectual disabilities strengthen their cognitive abilities "in a fun and playful way."
RENPHO, a company based in both the U.S. and UK, offers a line of smart bikes and treadmills enhanced with AI technology, enabling the user to monitor health data and design exercises that target specific health concerns.
Virility Medical, out of Israel, showcased a wearable patch designed to help men with premature ejaculation, a common sexual dysfunction.
The Commonwealth on Monday announced that residents can now access their COVID-19 vaccination history through the May Vax Records tool on the COVID-19 Smart Health Card platform.
Massachusetts has joined about a dozen states in creating on online portal for residents’ COVID-19 vaccination history.
Governor Charlie Baker announced on Monday that residents are now able to use a QR code to access the My Vax Records tool on the COVID-19 SMART Health Card platform, offering a digital repository for vaccination status. They can enter their name, birth date and e-mail address or phone number to create the account, which offers the same data as a paper record.
“This system provides an optional way that residents can access their vaccination information and a COVID-19 digital vaccine card,” the governor’s office said in a press release. “This will provide residents with another tool to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, should it be requested by businesses, local governments, or other entities.”
Commonwealth officials said they worked with the VCI, a coalition of public and private organizations that developed the open-source SMART Health Card Framework, to synch the digital platform with the Massachusetts Immunization Information System (MIIS), the official database used by healthcare organizations to record vaccination data. The platform only lists Massachusetts-based information for residents, so anyone who receives a shot outside the state needs to contact his or her healthcare provider to have that information included.
Massachusetts joins California, Colorado, Hawaii, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Puerto Rico in offering residents digital access to their vaccination records. The service is also available through CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Walmart and Albertsons.
The program is the latest effort by state and federal governments to develop digital health tools and platforms for easier access to healthcare information and services. The digital health card can be accessed on mHealth apps stored on a smartphone, such as the Apple Wallet.
The pharma giant unveiled its Lingo line of biometric wearables Thursday at CES 2022 in Las Vegas, continuing a trend in digital health innovation brought on in part by the pandemic.
Abbott Chairman Robert B. Ford introduced a new line of consumer-facing wearables at CES 2022, positioning the pharma giant near the top of a fast-growing digital health trend.
Ford unveiled Lingo, sensor-enhanced wearables designed to track biometrics such as blood glucose levels, ketones, lactate and even alcohol.
"This will be like having a window into your body," he said. "It's science that you will be able to access any time so you can understand what your body is telling you and what it needs. Our vision is that Lingo will go far beyond today's wearables for consumers to help you proactively manage your health, nutrition, and athletic performance."
Ford’s keynote highlights a busy week in Las Vegas, conducted on a mishmash of in-person and virtual venues due to COVID-19. His was the first keynote for a healthcare executive in the history of the Consumer Technology Association’s massive show, and represented the building interest in devices – especially wearables – that monitor and collect health and wellness data.
Perhaps just as important, healthcare organizations are taking an interest in those devices as they seek to balance in-person and virtual care and develop new programs that allow care providers to connect and collaborate with their patients outside the hospital, clinic or doctor’s office.
Ford’s announcement isn’t entirely ground-breaking: The company in one of many to have developed mHealth-enabled wearables over the past few years for people with diabetes and other chronic diseases. But it shows the healthcare industry’s growing interest in technology that’s designed first for the consumer, with engagement in mind. Healthcare providers have long sought to bridge the gap between clinical devices that accurately capture information but aren’t necessarily stylish and popular consumer technology (think Fitbit or the Apple Watch) that has been slow to prove that the data collected is reliable enough for clinical use.
Abbott’s announcement is just one of hundreds being made at and in conjunction with CES 2022, which is ending today (one day early, again as a result of concern over the pandemic). And digital health has been at the center of many of these announcements.
Among the more notable products being introduced this week are sensor-embedded rings, remote patient monitoring platforms, smart home products and mHealth apps that allow users to connect with care providers and peers and access personalized resources, particularly for mental and behavioral health concerns, substance abuse treatment, women’s health and sensitive issues like sex education and sexually transmitted diseases.
Of particular note are the innovative ideas being pitched by small start-ups and companies spun out of the healthcare industry, who often struggle in the shadow of the big tech giants. With COVID-19 pushing many vendors onto virtual platforms, the splashy press conferences and exhibit hall displays are muted, and the press releases and announcements are focused more on the technology and the uses than the glitz and glamor.
CTA President and CTO Gary Shapiro said in the days leading up to CES 2022 that he had decided not to go all-virtual because many of those small start-ups had invested a lot of time and energy in the show, and he didn’t want to rob them of that opportunity.
“Innovation can come from anywhere and anybody, and we must respect and encourage that,” he said in a commentary published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “This conviction informs all of our public policy positions, and the major tech companies — almost all of whom are our members — respect CTA for always looking out for smaller companies. Indeed, at CES and even as members of CTA, more than 80 percent of our membership is smaller companies. These companies and these founders are the ones I think of when I say it’s not time to pull the plug on CES 2022.”
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic report early-stage success with a wearable wristband that can anticipate epileptic seizures up to 30 minutes before they occur.
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have reportedly developed a wearable device that can detect the onset of epileptic seizures 30 minutes before they occur.
As documented in Nature, the preliminary study focused on just six patients living with drug-resistant epilepsy and being treated at the Mayo Clinic, so more research is needed. But the apparent success of a wristband and telehealth platform designed by Boston-based Empatica “provides the first clear evidence that direct seizure forecasts are possible using wearable devices in the ambulatory setting for many patients with epilepsy.”
The research could eventually greatly benefit the estimated 3.4 million Americans living with epilepsy, including close to 500,000 children. They live with the threat of a sudden seizure at any time, especially those living with recurrent seizures. Treatment is focused on neurostimulation and/or medications, even (but rarely) surgery.
“Despite optimized medication therapy, resective surgery, and neuromodulation therapy, many people with epilepsy continue to experience seizures,” the researchers wrote. “Half or more of patients who undergo resective surgery for epilepsy have eventual recurrence of seizures, and devices for neuromodulation rarely achieve long-term seizure freedom. People living with epilepsy consistently report the unpredictability of seizures to be the most limiting aspect of their condition. Reliable seizure forecasts could potentially allow people living with recurrent seizures to modify their activities, take a fast-acting medication, or increase neuromodulation therapy to prevent or manage impending seizures.”
That’s where digital health innovation comes into play. The development of sensors and mHealth devices over the years has given healthcare researchers a platform on which to work with mobile and wearable devices that capture and analyze biometric data. In time, these tools can be used for chronic care management and coordination.
More recently, researchers have developed tools that gather data to anticipate a health concern before it happens, such as hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia in people living with diabetes, the onset of a stroke or heart attack, even early signs of a virus like the flu or COVID.
In this study, Mayo Clinic researchers crafted a seizure forecasting system with a long short-term memory (LSTM) recurrent neural network (RNN) algorithm, than implanted it in a wristband. They tested the device on patients in the field, comparing the results against an implanted device that tracked seizures through an EEG.
The researchers pointed out that epileptic seizures have been accurately forecast in the past through implanted devices in both dogs and humans, but not everyone likes or can live comfortably with such an invasive device.
The study also noted that seizure prediction via wearable devices have been tested in in-patient settings, with some success. Hence the research into a non-invasive wearable.
According to the study, six patients were tracked over six months (one patient’s device was faulty and had to be replaced). Five of the six “had seizure forecasts significantly more accurate than a random predictor,” with detection on average occurring 33 minutes before the seizure was picked up by the EEG.
“These results provide the first clear evidence that direct seizure forecasts are possible using wearable devices in the ambulatory setting for many patients with epilepsy,” the study concluded.
A study published in Health Affairs finds that a phone call with a customer service representative can boost health plan enrollment in underserved populations, including those at or near poverty level, the elderly and minorities.
Researchers have found that a phone call with a live person at the other end can prod underserved populations in California into signing up for health insurance.
The study, led by Rebecca Myerson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and published this month in Health Affairs, finds that this simple bit of technology can boost enrollment in the Affordable Care Act Marketplace among those at or near the poverty level, as well as older Americans and minorities. Even with this assistance, however, enrollment numbers remain low, and researchers said these population still face several barriers to access.
Researchers studied roughly 79,500 consumers who had applied for coverage in Covered California during the 2019 open enrollment period but had not selected a plan, and found that a personalized phone call from a service center representative boosted enrollment by 2.7 percentage points, or 22.5 percent of the target population, amounting to an overall return on investment of 2:1.
“When a consumer was reached for a one-on-one telephone conversation, the service center representative had detailed information on the consumer’s available options,” Myerson and her colleagues reported in the study. “Representatives were able to describe to consumers the subsidies and cost-sharing reduction options for which they were eligible, clarify the parameters of specific plans available to them (including the costs and benefits of each plan, provider networks, and quality ratings), and walk them through the enrollment process if desired. Assistance was available in Spanish and other languages. This intervention could address enrollment barriers such as lack of awareness of health insurance options, low health insurance literacy or computer literacy, preference for in-language assistance, and the time and cognitive costs of sifting through options.”
The project points to both the value and drawbacks of using technology to engage consumers. Researchers noted that some forms of communication, such as automated messaging, texts and e-mails, might not be appropriate or effective in reaching target populations who aren’t comfortable with those channels, while a simple phone can with a live voice at the other end can reach and effectively engage some people.
“Several prior interventions sought to improve health insurance decisions via ‘low-touch’ outreach methods, such as presenting information in an automated online choice environment, in an advertisement, or by mail,” the researchers noted in the study. “Although these approaches are effective for many consumers, they might not be sufficient to overcome certain barriers to obtaining coverage, such as gaps in health insurance literacy, computer literacy, or internet access. Further, consumers in non-English-speaking communities may face language and informational barriers that limit the effectiveness of traditional passive outreach. These concerns have led to increasing interest among policy makers, navigators, and consumer organizations in developing novel outreach methods to address diverse barriers to enrollment.”
The biggest take-away is that technology can work if it’s tailored to the targeted population. A “one-size-fits-all” approach won’t work well.
Myerson and her colleagues found the personalized phone calls don’t overcome all barriers but do result in ”modest by meaningful enrollment gains in certain populations while yielding a positive return on investment.” They reported an estimated cost per new member acquired at $224, similar to Covered California’s average lifetime commission per member for broker-assisted customers.
They also suggested developing a long-term strategy that might include longer interactions, passive nudges and reminders and even automatic enrollment.
Myerson was joined in this study by fellow UWM researcher Honglin Li, Nicholas Tilipman of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Andrew Feher and Isaac Menashe of Covered California and Wesley Lin of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
The White House Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) has issued a Request for Information on how technology and innovation have been used - successfully and unsuccessfully - to address barriers to care and health equity.
The federal government is looking for input on how to use digital health to address community-based health and wellness and health equity.
In a Request for Information posted this week in the Federal Register, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) seeks input from “community health stakeholders, technology developers, and other interested parties about how digital health technologies are used, or could be used in the future, to transform community health, individual wellness, and health equity.” Comments are due back to the OSTP by March 5.
The announcement continues a federal effort to evaluate the experiences of healthcare organizations and others in using technology during the pandemic to improve access to care, particularly for regions and communities that have traditionally faced barriers to access. This includes digital health tools such as wearables and mHealth app, telehealth platforms and remote patient monitoring programs that have extended care from the hospital, clinic and doctor’s office to the community health center or even the home.
The agency said it is looking for “information about: successful models of strengthening community health through digital health technologies within the United States and abroad, barriers to uptake, trends from the COVID-19 pandemic, how user experience is measured, need for tools and training, ideas for potential government action, and effects on health equity.”
And it’s casting a wide net. The OSTP is hoping to hear from “community health workers (CHWs) and CHW organizations of all kinds; social workers; maternal health workers; telehealth navigators; peer recovery specialists; healthcare providers (please further specify); faith and community-based organizations; community health centers; State, local, tribal, and territorial governments; academic researchers; technology developers; global partners; health insurance providers; and individuals who have used, or are interested in using, digital health technologies or telehealth services.”
The notice is part of an OSTP initiative called Community Connected Health, which aims to study how technology and innovation can be used to reduce barriers to care at the community level and build on health and wellness initiatives.
The agency has broken down the request into eight topics: Successful US-based models of care, barriers to healthcare access, pandemic-related trends, user experience, tools and training needs, proposed government actions, health equity considerations and international models.
The initiative is one of several government efforts aimed at addressing the impact of technology during the pandemic. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is looking for evidence of how digital health has improved healthcare access and reduced costs, with an eye toward expanding coverage for new services and tools in the future. The Federal Communications Commission, meanwhile, has been focused on funding projects across the country that rely on expanded broadband connectivity to boost access to care in underserved populations. And Congress is faced with dozens of bills aimed at extending or making permanent emergency provisions enacted during the pandemic to improve access to care and coverage for connected health services.
The pandemic may be taking its toll on the massive consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, but it can't dampen the enthusiasm for digital health innovation.
As CES 2022 kicks off in Las Vegas this week, the effects of a two-year-old pandemic are quite evident— not only on the diminished size of the once-massive event, but also on the surge of interest in digital health innovation.
"We're much more substantive this year," says Rene Quashie, vice president of policy and regulatory affairs for the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), which hosts the annual event. "The continuing digital transformation of healthcare has certainly been influenced by COVID … and we're seeing a lot of interest in" new technologies and processes.
No more than a decade ago, digital health was limited to a portion of one conference hall, dominated by fitness bands, early-edition smartwatches, and exercise equipment tailored to the worried well. Some payers showed an interest in the space, but the healthcare community steered clear. Health systems and healthcare providers didn't trust consumer-facing technology (though some did envy the popularity), and they felt the data wasn't useful for clinical outcomes.
Fast forward to present day, and the world has changed. Digital health had been evolving in the years leading up to the pandemic, claiming more and more space on the show floor and claiming its own program track. Not only insurers but healthcare organizations are paying attention, driven by a surge of interest in tools and technology that take healthcare out of the hospital and clinic and into the homes and daily lives of consumers.
In a December 20, 2021, press release, CTA announced that more than 100 "health companies" would "take center stage at CES," offering presentations and exhibits in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center and taking part in panels and other events as part of the digital health summit. Aside from vendors large and small, the line-up included representatives from several health systems, including Ascension, Providence Health, and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Among the panels that had been scheduled to take place were conversations about using health tech to advance health equity, bias in the use of AI, and mental health innovation. Some of those conversations will be virtual, as positive COVID tests and vendors and participants reducing their in-person presence is forcing organizers to adjust on the fly, but the scramble hasn't reduced interest.
Shifting The Focus to Digital Health
In a first for CES, the closing keynote—which has been shifted to a virtual presentation—features a healthcare industry executive: Abbott CEO and Board Chairman Robert Ford (whose company is providing the rapid tests so that in-person attendees can be screened for the virus).
"Technology improves lives, and now more than ever, we are witnessing technology's incredible impact on healthcare, allowing us to take better control of our health," CTA President and CEO Gary Shapiro said in an October 2021 press release announcing the keynote—the first to feature a healthcare company. "We've seen a rapid shift in healthcare innovation, with technology leading the charge to bring quality healthcare to all global citizens."
"CES is the ideal stage to spotlight how technology is allowing people to take control of their health," Abbott's Ford said. "Health is at the center of our ability to live a full life, and the acceleration of health technology has the potential to improve more lives in more places than ever before. We look forward to sharing some of the latest health tech advancements and future possibilities at CES 2022."
Much of that is due to COVID-19, which spurred health systems to shift from in-person care to virtual care, including telehealth platforms and digital health tools such as mHealth apps, smart devices, and wearables. Suddenly health systems were looking for new platforms to deliver care to the home and connect with patients on demand.
According to a CTA survey conducted in 2021, since March 2020, some 20% of U.S. households used online health services for the first time, and 20% planned to continue that trend. Roughly one-quarter of those surveyed now use air purifiers, 23% possess smart or connected health devices, and 19% now use connected sports or fitness equipment.
And the healthcare industry has gradually learned to take an interest in consumer-facing technology. Hundreds of health systems across the world are using smartwatches, fitness bands, and other devices in pilots and programs, with the understanding that data coming from these devices doesn't necessarily have to be clinical-grade to be useful. For example, organizations like Brigham and Women's Hospital and Cedars-Sinai have used the Fitbit to track simple activity in certain populations, knowing that daily step counts can be used to chart post-operative recovery, even one's mental state.
Just as importantly, the consumer-facing health and wellness industry is making its products more in tune with clinical goals. Apple, Google, and Amazon have long been involved in the healthcare space, and Oracle's pending purchase of EHR company Cerner is a certain sign of that interest.
A Pandemic Pushes the Narrative
While the smart home concept has been percolating for years, COVID-19 has kicked the trend into overdrive. With more people working and attending school from their homes, the market is flush with connected devices and platforms that emphasize home-based monitoring.
During the pandemic a number of healthcare and research organizations launched programs that used wearables, including smartwatches, fitness bands, sensor-embedded clothing, and even rings, to track a user's biometric data and identify early signs of the coronavirus. Vendors are incorporating some of those characteristics into their products.
CES, in fact, often stands as a window into the creativity inherent in innovation. A walk through the many exhibit halls at past events often revealed a dizzying display of toys and tools, including smart toilet seats, refrigerators, toothbrushes, mattresses, easy chairs, and clothing. It has also given us a glimpse into emerging trends, including AR and VR, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, gaming in healthcare, and drones.
This points to a perhaps underappreciated value of CES. This is where the consumer tech industry gets an idea of what will and won't work, what trends will take off and what will likely fail to catch the public's eye. For a healthcare industry that has long struggled to understand patient engagement, CES offers clues as to what they should be looking at, and how they should be shaping the patient experience of the future.
This year's event is no different. The pandemic has put the emphasis on remote care, and consumer-facing companies are looking to capitalize on that with devices and platforms that give people healthcare services on-demand, in the home. And with a corresponding increase in remote patient monitoring and home-based care, healthcare organizations are looking for new tools that their patients can and will use at home to track and collect biometric data.
One such area of heightened interest this year is telemental health. The nation has seen a surge in depression, anxiety, stress, and burnout, along with an increase in substance abuse. The crisis has pushed many healthcare organizations to launch or expand mental and behavioral health services delivered via virtual care, and it's caused a corresponding increase in direct-to-consumer products, including wearables that measure stress and depression, mHealth apps that connect users to care providers, peer support and other resources, even wearables that offer self-help exercises through AR and VR or nerve stimulation.
Other trends to watch, according to Quashie, include digital therapeutics, using digital health to address health equity, and women's health.
"COVID has been a great experiment for" several digital health innovations, he says. "No question about it. It has exposed for the first time for many providers the ability to leverage virtual care … and to push out the boundaries."
Optum's fourth annual survey on artificial intelligence in healthcare finds that nearly every executive either has an AI strategy or is planning one, and almost half are already using AI technology.
A new survey from health insurer Optum finds that almost half of healthcare executive respondents are using artificial intelligence, while roughly 85% say they have a strategy in place.
The Optum Survey on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Health Care, the fourth annual installment from the UnitedHealth Group business unit, found that 98 percent of the 500 senior healthcare industry executives surveyed either have an AI strategy or are planning one, and 96% believe AI will play an important role in targeting health equity.
How they’re using AI is a different matter. Some 72% of respondents say they trust AI to support administrative processes that would otherwise be handled by clinicians, thereby allowing providers to spend more time on patients and patient care. When asked about using AI in clinical care, 41% said they were excited about the potential for AI in virtual patient care, while 40% saw a future in diagnoses and predicting outcomes and 36% saw potential in medical image interpretation.
“This year’s survey findings continue to validate how the responsible use of AI can help health systems strengthen and scale essential functions and reduce administrative burdens, all of which helps clinicians focus on their core mission of patient care,” Rick Hardy, chief executive officer of Optum Insight, the data and analytics business within Optum, said in a press release. “We share their enthusiasm for AI, but more importantly, we look forward to combining our healthcare expertise with AI to help people — patients, physicians, and those working behind the scenes — as that is where the real value is delivered.”
Optum officials said this year’s results show a continuing upward trend among healthcare executives in using machine learning technology and considering its potential. But they also say they can’t implement the technology without the right assistance: Almost 90% say they need help from a health services company with expertise in data and analytics, rather than going with a tech-focused partner.
They’ll need that expertise. The survey found that healthcare organizations aren’t quite sure who should manage AI strategy. Some 57% delegate that responsibility to the IT department, while data and analytics (56%) and strategy (55%) aren’t far behind. This confusion, the survey notes, “can result in a patchwork system between those who build models and those who use outputs and interact with patients.”
They’re also mindful of the challenges in replacing manual decision-making with machine learning. Some 94% of those surveyed said they have a duty with the healthcare industry to make sure AI is used right.
“The responsible use of AI continues to provide important opportunities for healthcare leaders to streamline administrative processes and provide more effective patient care with enhanced experiences for both patients and providers,” Steve Griffiths, senior vice president of data and analytics at Optum Labs, the research and development arm of UnitedHealth Group, said in the press release. “These leaders are not just users of AI, but they have an opportunity to be looked to as role models across industries in their commitment to using AI responsibly.”
As always, one of the biggest challenges to AI is that it might be used to replace people, but healthcare executives see things differently. According to the survey, some 55% believe AI will create new work opportunities, compared to 45% who think it will reduce opportunities.
And some are wondering when their return on investment in AI will pay off. While almost 60% expected a positive ROI within three years in last year’s survey, just 42% are expecting that this year, a sign that the technology isn’t yet producing the results needed to justify investment. Roughly 30% now expect a positive ROI within five years, up from 19% in last year’s poll, and 27% aren’t looking to break even until at least five years, up from 18%.
That said, Optum executives point out that the average amount of time predicted to reach a positive ROI is the same as last year – four years – and that’s better than the five years predicted in 2019.
The New York Health system is launching a new project that will use tech-enabled prescription bottles and remote monitoring to address medication adherence in patients with high risk of cardiovascular disease and a low rate of following doctor's orders.
Northwell Health is launching a clinical trial that will use tech-enabled prescription bottles to track medication adherence among members of New York’s Black community who are living with cardiovascular disease (CVD).
The program, managed by the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, the scientific arm of the New York-based health system, aims to determine how to develop behavioral interventions that will move the needle on CVD in a population at high risk.
“Cardiovascular disease is a major driver of death, particularly among people in the Black community,” Mark Butler, PhD, an assistant investigator at Feinstein’s Institute of Health System Science and principal investigator on the new trial, said in a press release. “Understanding how to promote adherence to life-saving medications is one of the best ways we have to shrink that disparity.”
As of 2018, Black Americans were 30% more likely to die from heart disease than non-Hispanic whites, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health. At the same time, Black women are 62% more likely than their non-Hispanic white counterparts to have high blood pressure, and while Black men and women are 40 percent more likely to have blood pressure, they’re less likely to be taking action to manage their chronic disease.
The reasons for this are myriad, and include a lack of access to resources that would help with chronic care management, also considered a social determinant of health. The Northwell Health project looks to address that barrier through digital health technology.
The program will enroll 42 participants in a virtual care platform, giving each a prescription bottle that collects data on the dose and timing of when cholesterol-lowering medications and statins are taken orally. That data allows caregivers to track medication adherence, and to send text messages to remind or encourage users to take their medications.
That’s a key component to any project that looks to push care out of the doctor’s office and into the home. Healthcare outcomes are predicated on the patient following doctor’s orders. If the patient isn’t doing what the doctor tells him or her to do, then outcomes will be affected. With digital health, care providers can now check in on a patient at home, monitoring adherence and adjusting the care plan if it’s not doing what it should be doing. This, in turn, should lead to better outcomes, including reduced healthcare costs and a better quality of life.
In addition, researchers will be collecting information on what they’re calling the ideal “intervention dose.” They’ll be using multi-behavioral change technique (BCT) intervention, which measures behavior, monitoring, goal-setting, action planning and prompts to encourage positive behaviors to determine the best frequency of text messages needed to meaningfully improve medication adherence.
That’s the holy grail for digital health researchers: finding the right balance of virtual “touches” and links to appropriate resources that can compel a patient to modify his or her behaviors. Too few, and the messages bounce off without being taken seriously; too many, and the patient feels pressured or overwhelmed and veers away.
Rsearchers see a bright future for digital health programs that address medication adherence because the platforms allow them to reach out to patients at home, when they’re taking (or not taking) their prescribed medications, rather than waiting for them to come to the doctor’s office or clinic to talk about what they’ve been doing over the past few weeks or months.
That’s especially important to care providers dealing with underserved populations who may not want or be able to visit the doctor’s office or clinic on a regular basis.
"To improve healthcare outcomes for all, we need to identify innovative solutions that address the inequities that currently exist," Emmet Conlon, Head of Healthcare at TD Bank, which provided a $150,000 grant to the Feinstein Institutes for the project, said in the press release. "We know cardiovascular disease impacts the Black community differently. We hope that through this investment we can help identify ways to address inequities and improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations."
MDSave is accusing three competitors of 'scraping' its website to copy the company's virtual care procedures, pricing, and providers and using that information to steal clients in Texas.
A Tennessee company that provides direct-to-consumer virtual care services has filed suit against three competitors, claiming the companies are trying to steal their patients.
The lawsuit, filed on December 21 in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas, accuses Sesame, Green Imaging and Tripment of “scraping” MDSave’s website to copy the company’s procedures, pricing and providers and using that data on their own sites. It also claims the companies are working together.
“The complaint alleges patent and trademark infringement, violation of the Texas Harmful Access by Computer Act, a penal statute, and a host of other business torts,” MDSave said in a press release. “The complaint alleges that defendants are illegally attempting to usurp MDsave’s business by falsely representing to patients that defendants have contractual relationships and negotiated pricing with the providers listed on defendants’ websites when, in many or most instances, they do not.”
Sesame and Tripment are based in New York, while Green Imaging is based in Houston. The lawsuit focuses on actions taken in Texas, which MDSave says is it’s largest market.
The lawsuit points to the complicated nature of direct-to-consumer (DTC) telehealth, which pits virtual care companies against each other – and against healthcare organizations – to market their services to consumers. Many advertise their own groups of healthcare providers, along with virtual care platforms and pricing options.
DTC telehealth had been growing steadily over the past decade as health systems sought to attract new consumers who didn’t have a primary care provider or who were looking for quick and convenient access to on-demand care. In some cases providers partnered with vendors, either outsourcing their DTC services or working with the vendor on a branded service.
More recently, healthcare organizations have found that they’re competing with telehealth companies health plans and even services offered by the likes of Amazon, Walgreens and Rite-Aid for a growing segment of the population that prefers on-demand healthcare. And they’ve been propelled by a seismic shift from in-person to virtual care, caused by the pandemic.
In its lawsuit, MDSave alleges “widespread intellectual property infringement,” including on software and methods patents related to bundled healthcare services, payments, and reimbursements; construction of healthcare bundles; virtual payment services; transparency pricing methods; and pharmaceutical bundling.
The company launched its platform in 2013 and reportedly offers more than 1,700 services in 36 states, while also partnering with more than 300 hospitals.
According to the lawsuit, MDSave learned in late 2021 that the three companies named were, ”both in concert and individually, to unlawfully appropriate MDSave’s business, including by illegally scraping its website for protected data, infringing its trademarks and patents, and falsely and otherwise unlawfully competing against MDSave.”
“This is abundantly clear because Sesame’s website lists many of the same procedures from the same list of providers as those available on MDSave’s website, including both imaging and non-imaging procedures,” the lawsuit states. “The same is true with respect to Tripment’s website, though limited only to imaging procedures (e.g., MRIs, X-rays, and CAT scans) that Tripment also falsely represents are being provided by Defendant Green Imaging (a national medical imaging provider) when, in fact, they are being offered by other imaging providers with whom MDSave has a relationship and Tripment does not. Because MDSave researched and identified these specific providers and negotiated reduced, upfront rates for specific bundled procedures, there can be no doubt that Sesame and Tripment stole—wholesale—protected data from MDSave’s website, such as the name and location of MDSave’s healthcare partners, lists and descriptions of available bundled services and procedures, MDSave’s negotiated prices, and other information essential to consumers when selecting healthcare.”
