165,000 apps, 3 bn downloads and counting: global mHealth apps study

November 25, 2015 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/mHealth-Developer-Economics-2015.jpg” thumb_width=”200″ /]The results of the fifth annual mHealth App Economics survey are out. Our Readers were invited to participate back in March when it was sponsored by German research firm research2guidance in collaboration with mHealth Summit Europe and HIMSS and kicked off at the Riga meeting in May.

Major apps stores reported more than 165,000 mHealth apps published by 45,000 companies, and projected 3 billion downloads by close of 2015.  Some other key findings from R2G do surprise:

  • The target for apps is DTC–chronically ill patients–with their hospitals as #2. Physicians are important, but less so than last year’s survey.
  • App publishers aims appear altruistic. 53 percent of mHealth publishers claim that their main motivation is to help people improve their medical conditions. However, 60 percent aren’t reaching their goals yet mainly due to low reach. The vast majority of apps (62 percent) mark up less than 5,000 annual downloads. (See the chart below for some possible reasons why)
  • Diagnostic apps lead in anticipated business potential until 2020. And app publishers have added medical professionals to their team.
  • What app publishers find works to change behavior is not gamification. What does: integration of provider feedback or dialogue.
  • Yet providers, such as doctors and nurses, are seen as the most threatened group by mHealth solutions.
  • A scant 3 percent of mHealth publishers generate more than $1 million–and they are far more focused on sales and brand awareness than their brethren which make little. (chart)

(more…)

Is Theranos’ ‘blood testing for all’ a responsible selling proposition?

November 20, 2015 | by

Theranos’ recent troubles on their blood testing (Walgreens halting expansion, FDA halting nanotainers as ‘uncleared medical devices’ and last week chain grocery/drugstore Safeway dropping their $350 million deal for 800 locations) have been well covered in media both here and elsewhere. But what if their Unique Selling Proposition–that people should have the ‘basic human right’ to order up their own inexpensive blood tests and then be responsible for their own interpretation–is counter-productive for many patients? After all, it’s what Theranos has been organized and raised $400 million+ on. Dr Robert Wachter of UCSF, who is no top-down Ezekiel-esque ‘nanny stater’, lends a caution: “There are a lot of companies, including Theranos, that have an interest in making you believe that more data will magically make you healthier. It won’t, at least not in the short-term.” When is ’empowerment’ confusing without recourse to interpretation? Some results are easier to read than others. Does having the data make the average person healthier for real? Personally, this Editor would welcome the ability to walk into her local Walgreens and order up a few to see what’s up–but then again she can do her own research and ask a doctor or nurse to help. Who can (inexpensively) close the interpretation gap? Theranos is wrapped in scandal but goes hard to change laws to its advantage (Mashable)

NYeC honors four at annual gala

November 20, 2015 | by

The NY eHealth Collaborative, which develops policies and standards supporting NY state-wide initiatives in healthcare information/data exchange, including the development of the SHIN-NY (Statewide Health Information Network -NY), Wednesday night honored four major NY-based forces in healthcare in New York City. Steven Safyer MD, CEO of Montefiore Health System, Jason Gorevic of telemedicine provider Teladoc, Thomas Mahoney MD of Finger Lakes Health System and Lisa Perry of Community Health Care Association, NYS. While award ceremonies usually don’t come bearing insights, Dr Safyer’s was succinct in what health systems face: that price is compressing over time and that it’s about managing that, not ‘managing care’ which is the usual shorthand. NYeC News.  This Editor missed the usual event in conjunction with the gala, NYeC’s Digital Health Conference, and hopes it makes a reappearance next year. NYeC also partners with the Partnership Fund for NYC in the three-year old New York Digital Health Accelerator (NYDHA) which has six companies in its 2015 five-month program.

Telecare pioneer Alertacall receives National Business Awards-UK honor

November 17, 2015 | by

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Alertacall-logo1.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Alertacall received the ‘Highly Commended’ distinction in the Market Gravity Innovation category at the Lloyds Bank National Business Awards UK. The company was cited over eight other finalists for its ‘OKEachDay’ phone check-in service in a field of over 150 other competitors in various business areas. Founded in 2004, Alertacall was one of the Grizzled Pioneers of UK telecare and lately has expanded into housing management with its Housing Proactive system. The winner was DNAFit, which integrates genomics into nutrition and fitness. The National Business Awards were announced in a ceremony on 10 November keynoted by astronaut (and second man on the moon) Buzz Aldrin and addressed by Prime Minister David Cameron. Scotland’s Digital Health & Care Institute was the other digital health finalist; DHI is an incubator for 85 live projects also funding academic research with a combined level of over £3 million. Awards page (click on Market Gravity Innovation), Alertacall release

Care Innovations finds a home in Mississippi

November 17, 2015 | by

The Intel-GE Healthcare joint venture, Care Innovations, last week inked a full five-year deal with the University of Mississippi Medical Center to use remote care management tools, such as their Health Harmony telehealth platform, in the home setting to reduce readmissions and ER/ED use. The chronic medical conditions they will be tracking are congestive heart failure, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and hypertension. According to Healthcare Finance, the RPM, data analytics and application integration services they are developing may be offered outside the state. This follows on reported positive results produced by a statewide population health program, the Diabetes Telehealth Network, involving both CI and UMMC’s Center for Telehealth. The results for the six-month first phase of the remote care management program, which included 100 Mississippians with diabetes: a 1.7% average A1C reduction, zero hospitalizations and ER visits, and a savings of $339,184 over six months. The CI and UMMC goal is to enroll 1,000 patients per month through 2016, and to save $189 million in Medicaid cost among diabetics alone.  Care Innovations release. Health Data Management. This follows on GE Healthcare’s acquisition of healthcare consultancy Camden Group [TTA Nov 12]

Pilot Health Tech: call for applicants 18 December (NYC)

November 17, 2015 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Pilot-Health-Tech-logo.png” thumb_width=”150″ /]The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), in partnership with Health 2.0 and now Blueprint Health, are calling for joint applicants for the third annual Pilot Health Tech NYC. The program invites innovative healthcare companies and “host” partners (mainly providers) to jointly apply by 18 December for $1 million in competitive commercialization awards. If chosen, these will pilot together to validate a technology solution for commercial use or investment.There are 10 awards across three categories: complex systems, scalable solutions and turnkey projects. Application is here; they also have a Q&A Webinar at noon on 1 Dec to ask questions about the funding program and details about the application process. Prior program winners include GeriJoy, QoL, Nonnatech, Flatiron Health, eCaring and Canopy Apps.

mHealth Grand Tour: ‘magical’ for cyclists, clinical level information for diabetes

November 13, 2015 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/1111150945.jpg” thumb_width=”200″ /]

From the HIMSS Connected Health Conference (CHC)/mHealth Summit

The last Executive Spotlight/keynote on Wednesday morning stepped outside most of this year’s CHC content, first for presenting a European mHealth program and diabetes patients not as overweight, inactive and co-morbid but as athletes. Presented by Benjamin Sarda, Head of Marketing for Orange Healthcare, the mHealth Grand Tour has developed in three years from a fully organized, challenging 2,100 km Brussels-Barcelona ride primarily (but not exclusively) for cyclists with Stage I and II diabetes as a test bed for blood glucose monitoring under extreme exercise, to a 1,500 km Brussels-Geneva three-stage tour with even greater ascent, extreme monitoring and also a full spectrum of vital signs feedback via smartphone to the riders. This past September, 24 riders accumulated 7 million measurements. The cyclists used these measurements (left) [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/1111150950.jpg” thumb_width=”200″ /][grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Orange-phone-grand-tour.jpg” thumb_width=”200″ /]to help manage their food intake, blood glucose, performance and overall wellness. The data is currently being analyzed by France’s Society of Diabetes (SFD), but an early result is that medication compliance was 97 percent. Some had difficulty (with a 22,000 meter climb, who wouldn’t?) but the app helped them manage their ride and what they can do that day. Orange’s interest as a telecom is obviously data but their work with multiple research and mHealth partners (including the Personal Connected Health Alliance which is part of the CHC) and with organizations like the JDRF are part of their big scale. It also represents a ‘jump shift’ in thinking about what is possible in living with diabetes.

What happened in between? Plenty! (More coverage to come.)

90% of industries have had PHI data breach: Verizon (HIMSS Connected Health)

November 10, 2015 | by

Reporting from the HIMSS Connected Health Conference (CHC)

Cybersecurity is one of the three central themes of this year’s HIMSS CHC, and excellent timing for releasing the highlights of Verizon’s first ever PHI (Protected Health Information) Data Breach Report. This is a spinoff of their extensive, eight years running international Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR). 

It’s not just your doctor’s office, hospital or payer. It will be no surprise to our Readers that the healthcare sector is #7 in breaches–but that a PHI breach may come from non-healthcare (in US, HIPAA-covered) sources. This Editor spoke with Suzanne Widup, the lead author of the PHI Report and an info security/forensics expert, and included in that 90 percent are workers’ compensation programs, self-insured companies, the public sector, financial/insurance companies and–as a damper on this highly competitive (but hard to gauge results) area–wellness programs. Most organizations, according to Ms Widup, aren’t even conscious that they are holding this information and need to specially protect it from intrusion, as “PHI is like gold for today’s cybercriminal.”

Consistent with other authoritative tracking studies like Ponemon Institute’s and ID Experts’, the threat is from within: physical theft and loss, insider misuse and ‘miscellaneous’ account for 77 percent of theft. And as Bryan Sartin, managing director of Verizon’s RISK team noted in his keynote today, attacks take over a seven-month period on average to even be noticed. The breaches are long term, start small and sneaky. 2/3 of organizations don’t find out on their own, only when it starts to affect other partners. (Surprise!) Despite the proven Chinese and Black Vine involvement in several high profile, high-volume data hacks (Anthem), and ‘brute force’ hacks that make headlines (iCloud last year), the average breach is an inside job where “assets grow legs and walk off” in Dr Widup’s words, or privilege misuse.

When I asked Ms Widup about the Internet of Things (which is moving high on the hype curve, from what your Editor has experienced to the nth degree at this conference), she confirmed that this is an area that needs extra cybersecurity protection. (more…)

A diagnosis of why digital health startups die–an old (and new) story

November 6, 2015 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/upside-down-duck.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]For years now, your Editors have championed integration of data and system interoperability–search on these terms and you’ll find a wealth of articles and views. This Editor also included how data is integrated in patient records as the Fifth Big Question (FBQ) in 2012 [TTA 8 Aug 13]. Many digital health companies, not just startups, have failed at the data integration (and security) tasks, whether with EHRs, hubs, billing and practice management systems or with other devices. (Let us not forget that the initial impetus for Continua back in 2007, the US state/regional HIXs and for HL7 now, was to have common data and interchange standards.)

So there’s no real element of surprise here by John Sung Kim’s pleading in TechCrunch re ‘integrating into legacy systems’ and the troubles his own startup DoctorBase encountered in what he tactfully puts ‘political and technical hurdles’ encountered. But then the velvet gloves come off about EHRs and their less-than-scrupulous idea of ‘partnerships’. (more…)

HCF Catalyst’s first startup/scaleup accelerators–apply by 27 Nov (Australia)

November 6, 2015 | by

HCF, Australia’s largest non-profit healthcare fund, has started Australia’s first true accelerator for health tech, HCF Catalyst. While accelerators have been around now for the better part of 10 years in the US and UK, they are new Down Under. Both startup and scaleup programs are on offer.

  • Startup: a three-month education/support program with a following three-month incubation program; initial investment of AU$50,000 and a next-round opportunity for up to AU$100,000 from the Slingshot Venture Fund. Qualifying teams should have, to quote their page, an idea that aligns to one of the HCF Catalyst themes, a fantastic team, able to deliver an MVP within three months of starting and global aspirations. See information and apply here.
  • Scaleup: for early-stage companies with business which are in growth mode, this is an access program that includes mentoring and coaching–no funding but access to investors, mentoring, coaching and a ‘demo day’. More information and to apply here.

Partners include Sparke Helmore, PWC, University of Newcastle, Artesian Capital Management and IBM SoftLayer. Hat tip to George Margelis via Twitter and Shawn Larkin, HCF Managing Director on LinkedIn.

TSA’s International Technology Enabled Care Conference (Wales)

November 6, 2015 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/TSA-Event-Site-03_031.png” thumb_width=”150″ /]16-17 November, Celtic Manor Resort Hotel, Newport, South Wales

This Editor notes that the Telecare Services Association will be ‘Inspiring Change and Progress’ in its second annual International TEC conference at the Celtic Manor. The website mentions a host of high profile speakers to give the ‘need to know’ sector picture, with a two day programme packed with stimulating presentations, challenging debates, informative parallel sessions that will include masterclasses and interactive workshops. More information and registration. Chubb Community Care has noted to us that it’s Europe’s largest TEC conference. They will also be featuring at the conference their jewelry-like alert pendant, Onyx, was developed by CAIR of West Yorkshire. It’s also fitted to work with Chubb’s new Care System and CareUnity® assisted living solutions

Chubb also will exhibit its new Chubb Care System, an assisted living solution where Chubb is a single-service provider for installation, service and monitoring, tailoring system features and functionality to the specific requirements of residents. They are at Booth 19.

Drive to ACOs and value-based care may make 2016 The Year of Telehealth (US)

November 6, 2015 | by

An encouraging prediction? Two Foley & Lardner attorneys with evidently a great interest in healthcare predict that 2016 may very well be The Year of Telehealth. Why? They cite accountable care organizations (ACOs) and the coordinated care at the heart of their model as a protected activity under the Medicare fraud and abuse waivers. “Coordinating care, such as through the use of telehealth, remote patient monitoring, and other enabling technologies”is “an activity reasonably related to the purposes of the Medicare Shared Savings Program and therefore is eligible for protection under one or more of the fraud and abuse waivers”. National Law Review, mHealth News. While from the legal point of view this may be significant, there’s been a concatenation of other factors.

What are the drivers for telemedicine and telehealth in ACOs? In the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), which is one model, ACOs must leverage savings, and perhaps the largest is avoiding unnecessary hospitalization costs among ‘high-risk’ patients–those with chronic disease–and usually more than one. They are also over half of high ER/ED utilizers. The Federal agency behind Medicare, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has since 2011 been signing up ACOs in risk and value-based payment models that offer incentives such as shared savings. In 2014, only 28 percent of ACOs in the MSSP program earned shared savings bonuses. (more…)

HIMSS Connected Health Conference/mHealth Summit starts Sunday–save $100

November 6, 2015 | by

Time is short! This Editor will be attending the HIMSS Connected Health Conference this November 8-11 in Washington, DC (actually outside The Puzzle Palace in National Harbor, Maryland). Telehealth & Telecare Aware has been a media partner (disclosure) since the 2009 mHealth Summit. Changes this year include that it is three conferences in one: the original mHealth Summit with the Global mHealth Forum, the new PopHealth Summit (concentrating on health improvement on the community, regional and national level) and the much needed new CyberSecurity Summit.

Attend all three for one registration, including a large Exposition floor and three pavilions for Population Health, Cybersecurity and Games for Health. Also, there are extra co-located and add on events, mainly on Sunday the 8th. The Global mHealth Forum focuses on mobile and connected health in low and middle income countries (LMICs) and is on Wednesday.

The Summit organizers have been kind enough to offer an excellent discount to our readers of $100. When registering, click on the advert (above, right hand side) and use the promotional code TELEHEALTH100 to receive it. (more…)

AdhereTech claims boost of 20 percent in med adherence

November 3, 2015 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/AdhereTech-pill-bottle-e1436497826583.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /] Back in June at CEWeek this Editor viewed the newly redesigned, retro-looking AdhereTech medication bottle [TTA 10 July] and thought it a substantial step in appearance and feel in the hand above 1.0. It dispenses normally, lights are brighter, sounds are louder, it communicates wirelessly to track consumption and reminders, works internationally and has a three-time greater battery life.

Compliance is a huge US business with pharma companies baying at the moon for it as a raison D’être of digital health. AdhereTech is working with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical Center, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center on clinical trials. AdhereTech’s studies now indicate that users get about a 20 percent lift in adherence versus a standard bottle, and 80 percent of patients given the option of using AdhereTech or a normal bottle opted into the smart bottle. Like Medisafe [TTA 30 Oct], their market is millions who have one or more chronic diseases, but they sub-target those who take more and more expensive medications which can justify this pill dispenser’s cost. Mobihealthnews, FT interview with team early last month

Wing: a device that warns prior to asthma attacks

November 3, 2015 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/wing-device-964×644.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]A St Louis, Missouri startup, Sparo Labs, has developed what they term an ‘early warning device’ for asthma attacks. The Wing pocket-size sensor which connects to a smartphone app (iPhone 5 and later, Android soon) measure both peak flow (how fast you can blow out air) and FEV1 (how much air you blow out in 1 second). The app measures it against personal levels (80-100 percent of best is fine, 50-80 percent is caution and below 50 percent is red zone) so that a person (or caregiver) receives an accurate reading of their breathing level; if something is wrong, the person can take their medication and/or seek assistance. For the 10 percent of Americans who have difficulty breathing, not just from asthma but living with COPD, cystic and pulmonary fibrosis, bronchitis and other respiratory conditions, the Wing’s compact design and under-$200 price point won’t leave them breathless. Wing is financing/testing on Indiegogo with a 20 Nov goal of $50,000 ($32,000 to date), awaiting 510(k) FDA clearance with an in-market date of August 2016. PSFK blog, Gizmag,Hat tip to Toni Bunting, our former N. Ireland Editor. 

Scottish Digital Health and Care Week

November 3, 2015 | by

7-11 December, Strathclyde University’s Technology & Innovation Centre, Glasgow

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/digiweek15eps-_2.jpg” thumb_width=”120″ /]This year’s conference theme is “Using innovative technology to enable more integrated, sustainable & person-centered health and care”. It offers the opportunity to learn from across Scotland, the UK and beyond, with a mix of workshops and plenary sessions. Topics include the critical lessons learned when deploying technology enabled services at scale, drawing experiences from telecare, telehealth and eHealth; learning crucial lessons from the experience implementing the UK wide DALLAS programme. Delegates are encouraged to discuss current knowledge base on a range of topics; network with colleagues from across the relevant sectors; and actively consider application to their own practice. There are also multiple events during the week; more information at SCTT’s website. Registration. Hat tip to Mike Clark via Twitter