Another survey, more disconnect on digital health.
In a new report from New York-based law firm White & Case, a whopping 93 percent of technology and life-sciences company executives said that digital healthcare is an integral part of their overall business strategy. But just 37 percent of those in life sciences have “well developed” plans to bring digital health products to market, compared to 62 percent of tech companies.
Meanwhile, the survey respondents in both categories said that Generation X — people born between 1965 and 1981 — would be the greatest users of digital healthcare technology in the next five years.
That’s despite the fact that baby boomers, the oldest of whom are approaching 70, are far more likely to have chronic diseases and high medical bills. It also goes against conventional wisdom that millennials, who are now in their 20s and early 30s, are the most tech-savvy generation to reach adulthood, though this group also is likelier to have fewer health issues than their older counterparts.
What does make sense is that 92 percent of life-sciences companies and 96 percent of tech firms expect to increase their investment in digital health in the next 18 months, according to the survey.
In the next five years, analytics and big data provide the biggest growth opportunities in digital health, the respondents said, followed closely by patient engagement. Over the longer term, a majority expect remote monitoring to take off.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
White & Case released the report ahead of its digital health event later this week in Silicon Valley, because, come on, who isn’t planning a digital health event these days?
Images: David Castillo Dominici/FreeDigitalPhotos.net, White & Case
