What is connected healthcare?
The concept behind connected healthcare is to create a large network of medical systems that use Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to communicate with one another. At the centre of the network is the patient. Using remote sensors (such as your mobile phone), a connected healthcare system can keep abreast of a person’s health in a way that has never been achieved before.
Why do we need it?
Globally, we have an aging population. Along with that, there is an increase in chronic or persistant diseases and conditions. At the moment, healthcare costs are growing faster than GDP. In developed markets, like Europe and America, the budget deficit from healthcare is incredible – and has been made worse by the global crisis. In developing markets, the challenge is in simply providing access to quality healthcare for all, using limited resources.
What is needed are changes. Rather than reactive medicine, whic only kicks in once something has gone wrong, what is needed is a proactive, continuous process. The patients need to be active and informed, rather than passive. Chronic care needs to become more central (as it is 70% of the total healthcare cost). All the systems need to be integrated, with information flowing readily from one to another – which is NOT the case at the moment.
Where does mobile come in?
There are opportunities for mobile here. In a connected healthcare system, the patient can be an actibr part of the system – to the point where they can get a lot of their healthcare at home, without needing to go the hospital. Jose referred to patients in homecare trials who didn’t want to give their trial unit back! Though, as he pointed out, “trials always work” – it seems that trials and pilots are no longer worth much in the mHealth sector. Mobile devices can also allow for much better assisted living: OAPs, pregnant women, chronic sufferers, etc.
Where’s the money?
The problem is that mHealth is expensive. It needs to be proveably cost-effective, and global healthcare providers need partners to help them set these systems up. There needs to be a huge, interconnected communication platform with the patient at the cetnre. A properly set up structure of sensors, applications and mobile devices can automatically “segment” the patients, pinging their data to the appropriate carer – primary care, remote care, social services, etc.
But most importantly, the people who are paying for all this need to be shown that this will save them a lot of money at the end of the day! This isn’t a technology game – most healthcare providers either don’t care or don’t understand when you talk about the different technologies used. What they want to see is a system that works, is efficent and cost effective.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Cian O' Sullivan
Quelle/Source: GoMo News, 14.02.2011
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