Medical Solutions - Consumer Electronics Wrap-Up: Digital Health

The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas, Nevada is the best overview of the latest and greatest in consumer technology. This year's CES saw an increase in digital health exhibitors - totaling almost 10% of total registered exhibitors. For more stats on this year's exhibitors and a full list of participating companies, see www.cesweb.org. From my perspective, digital health is broken into four categories at CES:

1. Wearables
2. Software as a Service
3. Robotics
4. Patient Centered Medical Home 

This year's CES showed a significant increase in Wearables. Hot buzz word for the show, Wearables were represented in product lines ranging from sensor enabled foam/cloth to bracelets and wellness watches. Think fitbit, iFit, and more. Simple product feature and functionality allows vital signs (heart rate, temperature, blood pressure, etc.) to be measured on the worn device and transferred seamlessly (e.g. Bluetooth, cellular, etc.) directly to a receiving hub for application upload to a simple, consumer-friendly dashboard. Wearables - defined to fit the active and "semi-conscious" lifestyle focus of health and wellness.

Although primarily a product show, CES has always had a prevalence of Software as a Service. Digital Health's focus - patient portals, EMRs, spend analytics, and health engines. This year's largest SaaS showcase - United Healthcare's main demonstration kiosk. No walk in the park, UHC showcased more than seven different portals with little differentiation between product class. One had the ability to tie in electronic medical records, another added the functionality of spend analysis, one supported physician interaction and communication directly via online portal. The opportunity - how about combining all into one cohesive, accessible module satisfying the interfaces for clinician, employer, employee, caregiver, and patient? Additional SaaS categories included such innovations as 3D surgery simulations to calorie/nutrition apps. We have a long way to go in combining all features and functionalities in digital health to a holistic solution.

 Robotics - who doesn't love robots? The feasibility of owning a health focuses robot is more consumer fantasy than consumer purchase. However, the latest and greatest do support a Jetson's moment. From mo-ped like robots with a videoconferencing "face" to at home robotic arms for immobile patient support - robotics are truly the wave of the future or at least for the most innovative and well-funded networks.

Patient Centered Medical Home - take all of the above, combine, and focus on in-home deployment and you have CES' focus on PCMH. PCMH is not a new term but the ability to digitize for automated, accessible and accurate networked health information continues to advance a new health frontier. Endless solutions from smart home + smart health to full in-home motion and fall detection, PCMH product lines support the gambit of mass adoption positioned by healthcare providers to the latest in automation for luxury consumers. Samsung's smart home accounts for full automation from a refrigerator supporting shopping lists and nutrition recommendations (via downloadable apps) to set-top boxes that convert home televisions into scheduled care plans with clinician direct interaction and communication - the future of PCMH is as wide as consumer fascination, adoption, and financial commitment. Welcome to the future of subscription health.

Catch news and reviews of 2014 CES through cnet.com, videos via LiveStream and general commentary via CESweb.org.

-Sunny Lu Williams
VP Business Development
Medical Solutions - Telamon Corporation