Wireless healthcare 2008

Wireless healthcare 2008

The use of wireless ehealth services to cut the cost of care.
Medical device vendors’ exploitation of Health 2.0 based services.
The robustness of an ageing population as a market driver.
Healthcare technology market as a safe harbour in a recession.
Wireless in the fitness and wellbeing market.
Profiles of 24 vendors active in the wireless healthcare market.


This report is published at a critical time for the medical device industry. During the last five years US and European healthcare providers have been modernising their core IT infrastructure. Many have been developing and deploying applications such as electronic patient records (EPR) that will store and analyse data collected from mobile and wireless medical devices. However, during this period projects involving the use of the wireless devices themselves have been starved of funding.

With the deployment of EPR we are likely to see a renewed focus of applications that reside at the edge of the healthcare network at a time when a new healthcare market, based on EPR systems hosted by companies such as Google and Microsoft, is opening up for medical device vendors.

A downturn in the global economy will impact on all sectors of the economy, including healthcare. However, there will now be increased pressure on healthcare providers to automate elements of the care process in order to yield the level of cost savings realised by the retail and service sectors. This report also examines how some consumer electronics companies have already started to use the healthcare as a safe harbour during a downturn in the market for their traditional products.

Wireless Healthcare 2008 provides an overview of the mobile and wireless ehealth market and examines how vendors are meeting the challenges posed by an industry that is attempting to co-opt a new and highly disruptive business model.

Contents

Wireless Healthcare 2008


1 The New eHealth Model

1.1 Introduction

1.2 The Existing Model

1.3 Key Concepts

1.3.1 Equivalence
1.3.2 The Disruptive Model
1.3.3 The Compromised Model
1.3.4 The Pharma Based Healthcare Model
1.3.5 Marketing Healthcare

1.4 Innovation Timeline

1.4.1 The eHealth Model Today
1.4.2 How the Model will Evolve
1.4.3 The Ultimate eHealth Model

1.5 Revenue Models

1.5.1 Device Sales
1.5.2 Subscriptions
1.5.3 Healthcare Payer Funded
1.5.4 Other Revenue Models

1.6 The eHealth Vendor’s Checklist

1.6.1 Is your Business Model Disruptive?
1.6.2 Is your Revenue Model Secure?

1.7 The Four Billion Dollar Market


2 Wireless eHealth Platforms

2.1 Introduction – Why a Platform?

2.2 The Evolving eHealth Market

2.2.1 The Incumbents Apply the Brakes
2.2.2 Circles of Care
2.2.3 Mobilising Healthcare

2.3. What is an eHealth Platform?

2.3.1 Basic Components
The User Interface
Figure 1 The User Interface

Communications
Back Office Support
Figure 2 Communications and Back Office Support

2.3.2 What does it do for the NextGen Healthcare Provider?
2.3.3 Where does it fit in the Healthcare IT Market?

2.4. Examples of eHealth Platforms

2.4.1 QConnect and LifeComm
2.4.2 WebSphere
2.4.3 BlueAid
2.4.4 Sensium and Oracle HTB
2.4.5 iPlato

2.5. Market Projections

2.6. Conclusions


3 Wireless Based Remote Monitoring and Diagnostics
3.1 The Current eHealth Model
3.1.1 Limitations of the Current Model
3.1.2 Devices
3.1.3 Data Pipes
3.1.4 Automated Response and Diagnostics
3.1.5 Marketability

3.2 A Typical eHealth Service

3.2.1 Working within Limits
Limit the Range of Diagnostic Tests
Employ Simple Communications Platforms
Build Own Patient Record Systems
Adopt Call Centre Based Model
Partner with Health Insurers

3.2.2 The Absence of Disruption
Working in a Heavily Regulated Market
Limitation of Call Centre Based Models

3.3 eHealth as a Disruptive Process

3.4 Boots eHealth – a Missed Opportunity?

3.5 A New Model and New Challenges

3.5.1 Taming the Device Market
3.5.2 Improving Data Transport
3.5.3 Deploying Electronic Patient Records
3.5.4 Moving Beyond the Call Centre
3.5.5 Bringing Remote Diagnosis to the Market

3.6 Epidemic Monitoring and Control
3.7 Conclusions


4 Telecare for the Elderley

4.1 Introduction – a Maturing Market
4.2 Ageing in Place

4.3 The European and US Markets
4.4 The Impact of Health 2.0

4.4.1 What is Health 2.0?
4.4.2 The Adoption of Health 2.0 by Ageing Consumers
4.4.3 The Impact of Health 2.0 on Incumbent Healthcare Providers

4.5 Blood Glucose Monitoring Case Study

4.5.1 Overview
4.5.2 Rational for Using the Device
4.5.3 Home Monitoring in Practice
4.5.4 Where to Next?

4.6 Changing Expectations of the Elderly

4.7 Market Evolution

4.8 How Vendors are Adapting

4.8.1 Tunstall – on Both Sides of the Fence
4.8.2 Docobo – Catching them Young
4.8.3 Caregiver Technology – New Kids on the Block
4.8.4 Vendors and Health 2.0

4.9 Projections

4.10 Conclusions


5 eHealth and Consumer Electronics

5.1 Introduction – The Accidental eHealth Provider
5.2 The Supporting Science
5.3 The Basic Model
5.3.1 Exercise
Polar Electro
Fitbug
Garmin

5.3.2 Diet
MyFoodPhone

5.3.3 Mental Agility
Nintendo

5.3.4 Breathing
InterCure
HeartMath

5.4 Routes to Market

5.4.1 Device Certification and Approval
5.4.2 Compliance and Effectiveness

5.5 Assessing the Market

5.5.1 Consumer Motivation
Youth and Exercise
Older Consumers
Mental Well-Being
Gender and Socio-Economic Grouping

5.5.2 Vendor Motivation
Device Vendors
Service Vendors

5.5.3 Market Size, Growth and Timing
5.6 Marketing Strategies

5.6.1 Lessons from the Online Dieting Market

5.6.2 Choosing a Healthcare Partner

5.6.3 Vertical and Niche Markets
Healthcare is Just a (Computer) Game
The Young and Fit

5.6.4 Extending the Preventative Healthcare Model
5.6.5 Barriers to Market Growth
Lack of User Commitment
Lack of Healthcare Provider Commitment
Lack of Communication Technology

5.7 Incumbent Healthcare Providers

5.7.1 Global ECG Monitoring Services

5.8 Conclusions




6 Wireless Based Disease Monitoring

6.1 Introduction – Achieving Global Reach
6.2 Three Diseases and Psychosomatics
6.2.1 Managing Diseases Managing Aids
Managing Diabetes
Managing Epidemics

6.2.2 Managing Psychosomatics
6.3 Two Approaches to Deployment
6.3.1 The Top Down Approach
The Top Down Approach and the Healthcare Organisation
The Top Down Approach and the IT Vendor

6.3.2 The Bottom Up Approach (‘Google Health’)

6.4 The Technology

6.4.1 The Network – Multiple Roles for Wireless

6.4.2 Intelligence at the Core
Top Down Deployments
Bottom Up Deployments

6.4.3 Middleware as the Middle Ground

6.5 The Market

6.5.1 Market Drivers
Vendor Push
IBM
Yahoo and Google
Oracle and Microsoft
Cerner
The Pharmacuetical Sector
Consumer Pull
Patients
Healthcare Providers

6.5.2 Market Inhibitors
Privacy
Restrictive Practises
Regulation
Technical Issues
Commercial Issues

6.6 Implications for Wireless Device Vendors

6.6.1 Choosing a Development Partner
6.6.2 Re-orientation
6.6.3 The ‘Googleisation’ of Healthcare
6.6.4 Funding Services
6.7 Conclusions


7 Vendor Profiles

7.1 Qualcomm
7.2 IBM
7.3 BlueAid
7.4 Oracle
7.5 Tunstall
7.6 AT&T
7.7 Docobo
7.8 Caregiver Technology
7.9 AMD Telehealth
7.10 Card Guard
7.11 Vitaphone
7.12 Broomwell HealthWatch
7.13 Fitbug
7.14 Nintendo
7.15 Garmin
7.16 Polar Electro
7.17 InterCure
7.18 HeartMath
7.19 MyFoodPhone
7.20 Google
7.21 Tplus Medical
7.22 Voxiva
7.23 Microsoft
7.24 Cerner

Appendix A – Data and Resources