This week on MedHeads, Stephanie Baum and Neil Versel will touch on the week that was in healthcare innovation but will pay specific attention to the ongoing wearables debate. They’ll be joined by Shahid Shah, author of the Healthcare IT Guy blog, co-founder and CEO of Netspective Communications, and a MedCity News contributor.
Wearables have seen enormous growth in the digital health landscape but the market is split between those companies seeking clinical validation and the mass market activity trackers like a Fitbit or Jawbone.
But the lines between the clinical and consumer wellness areas are increasingly blurred by healthcare professionals who view activity tracking as a valuable data stream. This week, Carolinas HealthCare System moved to integrate wearables data into their electronic health records through a mobile app called myCarolinas Tracker. It directly integrates data from both an institutional electronic health record and from consumer fitness trackers.
There’s also an interest by wearables developers to make their technology relevant for physical therapy practices to better track activity levels in recuperating patients.
IDC’s worldwide wearables (try saying that a few times fast) market forecast in June estimated that 72.1 million device trackers would be shipped this year, compared with 26.4 million in 2014. It distinguishes between basic wearables and smart wearables, which it defines as devices capable of running third party apps like a smart watch. It projects that they will overtake basic wearables in the future.
In his Connected Health Symposium keynote Ezekiel Emanuel, chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at University of Pennsylvania, voiced his doubts about mass market adoption of wearables. He believes too many are made for the worried well rather than people with chronic conditions. he the number of people using wearables consistently would rise to mass market customer base. On the flip side, Shah envisions wearables and mobile health apps being sold in digital health stores.
So where does the truth lie?
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.
MedHeads starts at 4 pm Eastern Friday. Join us via the YouTube embed below or on our Google Hangout Hangouts On Air page.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbhAYIRkZh0]
