Recent rumors predicted changes at Healthagen, the rebranded ‘Emerging Businesses’ unit of health payer giant Aetna, and that these would be apparent at HIMSS14. Mobihealthnews attempts to ‘Sovietologize’ Aetna chairman Mark Bertolini’s appearance (sponsored by Healthagen, not Aetna) and what products were included in the Healthagen (not Aetna) show floor display. First, the booth: only Accountable Care Solutions and health info exchange Medicity were featured. Former star iTriage (the original Healthagen product) was relegated to a distant booth. The much-touted CarePass consumer wellness platform? Absent. InvolveCare, the Healthagen caregiver app introduced last fall? Announced to be discontinued 28 April. In the true tradition of Sovietology, omissions are as apparent as inclusions. Second, the keynote: oddly, there are no content points cited from Mr. Bertolini’s speech in Mobihealthnews. We turn then to the Dan Munro in Forbes article, where Mr. Bertolini calls for the ‘creative destruction of healthcare’, a stock rallying point since 2009 (Yes, it doesn’t work. No, it’s not sustainable. It’s an iron triangle. Etc.) The bottom line was his announcing that Aetna’s business going forward would be ACOs and “driving a consumer healthcare experience.” Hopefully that will mean access and quality for the rest of us. Will Healthagen CEO Charles Saunders be part of leading the charge? Not a mention. One could say that the Magic 8 Ball says ‘cloudy’ for the present situation at Healthagen. Perhaps more changes will be revealed in coming weeks.
Verizon adds Telcare, Genesis to monitoring platform
Verizon received a second FDA clearance for its health management software platform, and added blood glucose management monitors Telcare and Genesis Health as part of it. The first clearance, according to Mobihealthnews, covered five telehealth devices from Ideal Life. Verizon’s intentions are to ‘white label’ market the system to providers who plan to use personally gathered telehealth as part of a patient management program in integrated delivery networks (IDNs), where it is currently in trial–plus health plans and self-insured employers. Verizon’s platform also has ‘gamified’ educational and motivational functions, including its own virtual currency for rewards. If this is proven in the US, will this be marketable in the UK and EU–and will Verizon go it alone or seek partners? Hat tip again on the story to reader Mike Short via Editor Charles.
It’s iAwards time again!
As the US East Coast faces low temps (down to 12 degrees again tonight) and another dumping of snow Monday, a small sign of spring, like flash-frozen daffodils and crocuses (crocii?), is the annual application call for the Triple Tree iAwards for Connected Health to be presented at the Wireless-Life Sciences Association (WLSA) 9th Annual Convergence Summit 14-16 May at the Omni in San Diego, California. Twelve finalists will be selected from applicants based on
criteria including the uniqueness of their solution; marketplace traction; clinical, operational or consumer relevance; size of addressable market and international presence across three categories:
- Operational Effectiveness: Solutions that address the financial, compliance or operational needs of a healthcare organization.
- Clinical Effectiveness: Solutions that address the care delivery and clinical effectiveness for a patient.
- Consumer Engagement: Solutions that empower consumers to make better healthcare decisions.
Finalists attend not only a dinner, but also for the first time this year a private business review session. Online applications can be accessed at the TripleTree and Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance websites along with a $195 fee. Registration for the conference is here. Hat tip to Editor Charles and reader Mike Short.
‘Grizzled pioneer’ VRI receives major investment from Pamlico Capital (US)
US telehealth monitoring and medical alert provider VRI (Valued Relationships, Inc.) of Franklin, Ohio earlier this month received a majority investment/recapitalization from Pamlico Capital, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based private equity firm. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Current lead executives CEO Chris Hendriksen and President Andy Schoonover will remain in active management and retain significant ownership in VRI, which they founded in 1989. Regarding the investment, Mr. Schoonover to this Editor stated that the funds will be used for expansion purposes. “It is another vote of confidence (alongside the Cardiocom acquisition) that telehealth is getting great results and is here to stay. The capital will support VRI’s growth objectives, particularly in executing a couple of large projects with health plans that VRI has booked for 2014, and the hiring of additional sales talent.”
Despite being in a rather ‘non-buzzy’ area of telehealth, the investment attracted the interest of some major players. VRI was assisted in evaluating its options by well-known digital health financial advisor Triple Tree; legal counsels were McDermott Will & Emery for VRI and Alston & Bird LLP for Pamlico. Pamlico specializes in the ‘middle market’ and has previously invested selectively in mid-sized healthcare providers such as Greenway (EHR), Healthcare First (home health software) and Physicians Endoscopy (surgical centers). Overall, and interestingly, this appears to be a positive, long-term vote for telehealth and medication monitoring, as well as for the viability of traditional medical alerts and some of the patient engagement/hospital readmission reduction models VRI has been developing with major payers such as Humana. Pamlico Capital release, Triple Tree release.
Is *less* regulation the answer for mHealth? (US)
What if the solution to the mHealth/digital health logjam of approvals at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is to take clinical and health software completely out of their approval purview–and hand it to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is not a regulatory body but a standards-development organization. That is the solution proposed by the PROTECT Act of 2014 (Preventing Regulatory Overreach to Enhance Care Technology), proposed by Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska). It’s put some of the better known organizations into a swivet, along with high profile attorney and mHealth legal expert Bradley Merrill Thompson with Epstein, Becker & Green. Possibly little to no regulation would be applied to EMRs, clinical support software and wearables/fitness apps–which is promptly being conflated by the usual suspects to heavy-duty equipment such as CT scanners. FDA also finalized its guidance last September on telehealth and telemedicine applications, which this would render irrelevant. The Washington betting is that this Senate bill will go exactly nowhere, but it’s indicative of the jockeying for position this Editor is seeing within the present government and now with advocates/lobbyists [TTA 13 Feb]. MedCityNews, FierceMobileHealthcare
Another ‘bionic pancreas’ in test
Another possible weapon against the Continuing Battle of Stalingrad faced by diabetics is in test in the Boston area. A system developed by associate professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University Dr. Edward Damiano (whose son has Type 1 diabetes), and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School Dr. Steven Russell has a sensor inserted under the skin that relays hormone level data to a monitoring device which sends data to an app on the user’s smartphone every five minutes. The app calculates required dosages of insulin or glucagon to maintain optimal blood sugar levels, and communicates the information to two corresponding hormone infusion pumps worn by the patient. Their target for FDA approval and rollout is 2017. Gizmag. Previously Editor Charles and this Editor have written about Diabetes Assistant and two other systems in clinical trials, which also are bringing this to a closer reality [TTA 20 Aug, 5 Aug]
Eric Dishman’s ‘view from the top’ on genomics
Eric Dishman of Intel’s Health & Life Sciences Group credits genomics with changing the course of treatment for his life-threatening cancer about two years ago. With new treatment based on his genomic sequencing, he became cancer-free in three months and eligible for a kidney transplant, which he received in early 2013 from, as it turned out, a fellow Intel-er [TTA 12 Apr]. His keynote at HIMSS14 was about what he calls ‘N=1″ personalized medicine, which is based on three Bs plus one: body, biology and behavior, plus beliefs. Dishman also recounted a story around the original Intel Health Guide of a woman caregiving for a mother with Alzheimer’s whose diabetes worsened because she could not make clinic visits; with the addition of remote monitoring to the care plan this was reversed. No mention of Care Innovations (the Intel-GE JV), but he presented the Sotera Wireless ViSi Mobile wireless patient monitor as an ‘ICU on a wrist’ (Intel is an investor). Neil Versel reports in MedCityNews.
More on the data analytics and integration behind genomics from an unexpected source–the chief medical officer of Northrop Grumman. If like Editor Donna, you had no idea that this company had a footprint in healthcare, prepare to be surprised. Thanks to our friends at HITECH Answers.
Samsung’s mHealthy S5, Gear–and potential
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/gear-2-neo-620×554.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Is there an untapped mHealth business model here?
Samsung’s dual announcements in New York and at Barcelona’s annual GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) of the Galaxy S5 smartphone and the latest iterations of their smartwatch (left), the Gear 2/Neo, confirm what this Editor believes will be a major 2014 trend: the matter-of-fact integration of vital signs sensors into easy-to-adopt form factors. Reported by ZDNet:
- Galaxy S5: “It’s so small and unnoticeable, you would be forgiven for not giving it a second thought. Next to the flash is a heart-rate sensor that can — prepare yourself for a hearty dose of real-life sci-fi — see the blood pumping through your finger. It works when you gently push your finger over the flash on the rear of the handset. This ties in with the smartphone’s pre-installed health apps, such as the S Health, which includes a fitness tracker and pedometer.” The phone also connects to the Gear 2 software. (This is in addition to the fingerprint scanner.) Article
- Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo specification: Bluetooth 4 low energy, Infrared, heart rate sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope Article
Easy to use tools for health–and fall detection–baked into a mainstream phone and a fairly attractive smartwatch. There’s plenty of health and safety functionality for all ages built into both. What’s the missing link? Here’s a thought. A manufacturer/wireless JV or subsidiary which targets the health monitoring potential of these devices to create a separate revenue stream. The ‘risk’ could be spread to resellers allowed to creatively adapt devices like the Gear for older adults in independent and assisted living environments, or for autistic/at-risk children. This is not an inconsistently supported AT&T ForHealth [TTA 5 Feb] or a failed Lifecomm [TTA 14 Oct 13], but an entirely different business model. Reader thoughts?
More on MWC: Washington Post
Update 28 February: The Galaxy S5’s heart rate sensor may make it a medical device in the eyes of South Korea’s health agency, forcing the phone to be regulated and reviewed in the ROK before its 11 April worldwide release. FierceMedicalDevices. Hat tip to @DrDave01 (Dr. David Albert of AliveCor) and David Doherty of @mhealthinsight via Twitter.
AliveCor links with Practice Fusion
Breathlessly noted in today’s mHealth blogosphere is AliveCor’s partnership announcement with EHR giant Practice Fusion to integrate their patient-generated ECG information. According to the release, the 100,000 physician base of Practice Fusion will have the option to import AliveCor ECG data into patient records. This is a major breakthrough for AliveCor, which just gained FDA over-the-counter clearance for its snap-on case [TTA 11 Feb]. The AliveECG app also enables physicians to obtain an expert review of the ECG data, annotate and electronically transfer this data into the EHR within seconds. Is this the confirmation that AliveCor is the ‘product of the year’ as the Forbes article puts it? Or just an indicator where mHealth with clinical quality could be going? (Let’s see if other EHRs like Athenahealth join the trend.) Release
$3,300 annual savings from diabetes monitoring: study
A study published in this month’s Endocrinology (US) demonstrated a $3,300 per person annual reduction in employee healthcare costs in a trial of the Telcare mHealthmonitoring system in conjunction with ActiveCare data analytics used for an employee diabetes management program (N=143). The amount was the average decrease in 12 month claims between 2011 and 2012 for those who enrolled and used the program, versus those who enrolled but did not use the program demonstrated a $282 per person increase. Telcare press release, TouchEndocrinology.com (abstract/text) Hat tip to Editor Toni
National Health Summit Ireland–Special Report
Reader Andrew Macfarlane, Commercialisation & Centre Manager, CASALA at The Netwell Centre of the Dundalk Institute of Technology, stepped forward to report on this past Wednesday’s Summit. (Please note the excellent cross-references for those who may not be familiar with Ireland-specific programs.) Many thanks Andrew from Editors Toni and Donna!
From an Industrial Age to Information Age Healthcare – National Health Summit, Ireland
The 10th National Health Summit, which took place in Dublin, Ireland, saw a good attendance and an impressive range of speakers. The event is primarily targeted at decision-makers involved in leading and managing the delivery of healthcare services in Ireland.
The morning session outlined the changing landscapes of healthcare delivery both in an Irish and International context. Next up, separate tracks covering Health Insurance (as the Irish government seeks to introduce Universal Health Insurance), Hospital Management & Digital Healthcare (the primary topic covered by this post). The final session covered helping patients stay healthy at home and an insightful panel discussion on reform of the health service.
Tony O’Brien, Director General of the Health Services Executive (HSE) provided the opening address, entitled “Choices for our health service”. The HSE is a large organisation of over 100,000 people, whose job is to run all of the public health services in Ireland. He highlighted that like most health care systems, they are facing rising demand and costs (current budget €13.6bn), and that at the same time has endured significant health budget cuts, 26% since 2008, with €600+m planned savings in 2014. The annual National Service Plan sets out key priorities.
Key takeaway from a digital health point of view is the policy aim of A New Model of Care Treatment at the Lowest Level of Complexity that is Safe, Timely, Efficient and as Close to Home As Possible. The HSE envisages transforming from an industrial age healthcare to information age healthcare, with cost-effective use of ICT. Challenging perhaps with a historical under-investment in ICT at 0.85% of budget vs EU average of 2-3%, a number of speakers referenced the “Ghost of PPARS” as reason for under investment.
Professor Aidan Halligan, Director of Education, University College London & Principal, NHS Staff College, England in a lively storytelling highlighted that the Cathedrals to Disease (more…)
The GET Project to grow EU startups/SMEs
Associated with the international Health 2.0 organization, the GET Project provides four services to promote the growth of eHealth start-ups and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in four different phases: opportunity identification, business model definition, fundraising and internationalization. Health 2.0 is managing the “GET Funded” service, which provides SMEs looking for Series B or follow up investment (between € 0.5-2M) with training, resources and networking opportunities with VCs and investors at the European level. (Perhaps a way around the Series B crunch?) More information. Contact Pascal Lardier, International Director at Pascal@health2con.com. Editor Donna notes that the focus here does not appear to be UK, though one of the five Advisory Board members listed is from Scotland (and interestingly, two are from the US): Jan Rutherford, Partner, Scottish Equity Partners (SEP); Sandra Bates, Founder and CEO Innovation Partners; Dave Whitlinger, Executive Director, New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC); Ron Michael Liebkind, Founder and CMO, Laastari Retail Clinics; Rajendre Khargi, Chair, OneWorld International Foundation.
Telefónica buys strategic stake in Saluspot
Telefónica Digital today announced a strategic agreement with and a financial stake in information/medical community website Saluspot to extend the latter’s content and network in Spain and Latin America. Saluspot is an interesting cross between health information (WebMD) and physician locators (in the US, ZocDoc and Vitals) in that it provides free, anonymous contact with registered (on their site) physicians via the website to answer consumer questions in areas where healthcare access is limited; through this matching it also provides visibility for doctors as well as a professional exchange and purchasing collective. The benefit for Saluspot is to increase their coverage beyond Spain and Chile, and for Telefónica to add health tech services in major markets such as Brazil, where they acquired chronic care management company Axismed last year. Telefónica’s eHealth reach, according to the release, is over two million eHealth service customers in Latin America and its media networks include Eleven Paths, giffgaff, Media Networks Latin America and Terra.
Tunstall welcomes you to ‘my world’
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Tunstall-tab.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Tunstall unveiled its tablet-based integrated system for supported housing at this week’s Housing LIN Extra Care Housing Annual Conference in London. ‘my world’ groups applications for residents in an easy-to-use way for communication (email/messages), scheduling care visits, booking meals, home maintenance, finding out about community events, weather and the like. These features are all somewhat reminiscent of other systems such as GrandCare and the original concept behind Waldo Health. It appears to this Editor that Tunstall has designed my world/my clinic as Tunstall’s World–a fully proprietary ecosystem, as seen in their model installation with Herefordshire Housing. The release notes that it is integrated with Tunstall’s ‘my clinic‘ multi-user telehealth system and the Communicall Vi reporting system, as well as Contour Homes. Certainly when a system is complex, having it ‘closed’ is assurance that everything works together. But is a closed system the best quality, most economic and effective arrangement for individual, a community’s or a council’s needs? Press release, brochure
Telehealth for Parkinson’s, autism, Alzheimer’s (podcast)
For your weekend listening, Neil Versel’s interview with Ray Dorsey, MD, co-director of the Center for Human Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Rochester, where he discusses use of off-the-shelf telehealth for primarily Parkinson’s disease but also for autism and Alzheimer’s. Article with podcast link (just under 18 minutes.)
Aerotel’s HeartView ECG goes mobile and personal
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/aerotel-heartview-p128-mobile-feb14.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]For those attending GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week and interested in how a more traditional telehealth provider incorporates mobile technology, stroll over to the Israeli Pavilion (Hall 5, Booth #5C81) to see Aerotel‘s new (debuted at Medica Dusseldorf last November) HeartView P12/8 Mobile, an extension of their existing 12-lead ECG line that incorporates a 3G module for patient data transmission to either a call center or to a physician’s email. Aerotel claims that it is the smallest and most accurate 12-lead mobile monitor on the market. We thank Boaz Babai of ARPU~UP, Aerotel’s marketing agency, for the heads-up–but it would have been helpful to have a link to the (nonexistent?) product web page. Release (finance.yahoo.com).
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