Minus the WSJ snark, MarketWatch reviews various wireless health initiatives and pilots and finds them nearly ready for consumer prime time, with the usual caveats: the promise of cost savings and hurdles of insurance payment and provider reimbursement stall adoption. The proof of effectiveness is accumulating, but is wireless health at a tipping point for consumers, insurers and the Feds? Highlights:
- MedApps/Microsoft/Cleveland Clinic: this long-term (3 months to over one year) test of over 250 patients, evenly divided between mobile and non-wireless vitals reporting, is finding improvement in control of chronic conditions–diabetics and hypertensives increased the number of days between physician visits by 71% and 26% respectively. The dramatic study of the hypertensive long-distance truck driver who uses MedApps for monitoring that leads the article is a great example of the portability of M2M systems.
- Another trial of 300 patients by CardioNet of their MCOT (Mobile Cardiac Outpatient Telemetry) that uses small sensors and a transmitter to monitor during everyday living, reported that MCOT is three times more effective than prior technologies in detecting cardiac arrhythmias. [See Telecare Aware 20 Jan 2009]
- Jitterbug developing simple ‘out of the box’ applications such as LiveNurse and Samsung/American Heart Association’s text message tips.
- Dr. Eric Topol of the West Wireless Health Institute predicting a wristband that will send all your vital signs continuously to your phone (but who will be looking at them?)
Handheld ultrasound (GE’s Vscan) and fall detection (?) are alluded to but perhaps edited out. And do read the comments for the usual ‘big brother’ kneejerk
Best summary is Brian Dolan’s of Mobihealthnews: to paraphrase, for wireless health this may be the year not of mass adoption but mass introduction. MarketWatch article
Wireless Technology Adoption
I will be interested to see which of these technologies have a lasting impact on the health care industry. Cardiac outpatient telemetry is one of those technologies that increases patient convenience but decreases patient/clinical interaction. It will be interesting to see if the same level of care can be provided.