Sponsored Content From millenials to the aging, connected health brings answers

Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, healthcare has become less about providing sick care and more about enabling a path to healthy living. Also driving change is the pressure of two generations – a technologically engaged and health conscious youth and a growing aging population – which is causing a paradigm shift in the way we think about healthcare delivery.

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On one end, millennials, who now outnumber the baby boomer population, have come of age bringing with them aspirations to be healthy, live well, and enjoy life. They also bring considerable economic clout. A 2014 Nielsen poll said U.S. consumers listed healthy living as a top concern, a fact that is supported by a market boom of health fitness devices and apps. At the same time, new startups are redefining what healthy living really means. As members of this younger population age, maintaining their already healthy lifestyles will become an increasing concern. They will demand more personalized and immediate interactions across all areas of their lives, with health being no exception.

On the other end, a booming, aging population faces growing healthcare costs, care-at-home demands, and the realities of end-of-life chronic disease management. Fifteen years from today, there will be twice as many older Americans – those age 65 and older – as there were in 2000. American hospitals, which are typically oriented towards acute care, are anticipating the stress the aging population will place on its facilities and again looking to healthcare technology to meet this generation’s need.

To handle the increase in patients with chronic disease, hospitals have begun implementing virtual hospital and telehealth capabilities instead of simply building new facilities or hiring more staff. An additional challenge will be teaching older Americans how and why these technology innovations and others can redefine health management. Many older Americans say they don’t see the benefit of technology to their health; nearly half say they are not planning to adopt smart technology in their homes.[1]

The health industry has not yet faced such juxtaposed consumer demands, and certainly not simultaneously. The new tensions will bring large-scale changes to the way we deliver healthcare.

The Internet of “Health”Things

Technology offers a way to make sense of the chaos and scale delivery to meet demands. New information technologies like a diversity of cloud and data-driven tools, for example, can provide a more connected healthcare industry.

We already have in the makings a technology infrastructure that can power a new healthcare ecosystem. Wearables, like FitBit, have been readily adopted by millions of Americans. More than 80 percent of consumers identified a core benefit of wearable technology as its potential to make healthcare more convenient.[2]

The aging well tech market, with products like smart air purifiers and blood glucose monitors, is a $2 billion industry.[3] This technology creates connected communities that help older Americans retain independence as they age. For people with chronic illness, health technology can provide much needed peace of mind, allowing them to keep track of their health and gather vital data in a way that empowers and motivates them toward healthier lives.

A more connected Internet of Health Things will deliver tangible benefits to patient care, particularly in improved outcomes and cost savings.

Even in the realm of possibilities, however, transforming America’s legacy health system is a huge undertaking. Virtually everyone agrees that technology can make the health system better. The challenge will be in how we use technology to provide end-to-end healthcare solutions that, in an equilibrium of sorts, uses the paradigm shift to create a continuum, where healthcare is delivered seamlessly across demographics and health spaces.

The technology exists, but so do many questions as to whether we’re designing technology products that the health industry actually needs. In that way, we have yet to exploit the full power of technology in the healthtech landscape.

For instance, we lack clear standards on how to make big health data useful, standards designed for patient-focused as well as population-focused actionable insights that can help achieve interoperability. Health and fitness apps, smart devices and connected products overall are making patients more aware of their own health, but what do consumers do with the data? Who is helping them make sense of this in the context of an overall picture of health? The average doctor doesn’t have the ability to make data meaningful without some sort of supporting tool. And even if he or she did, the law isn’t clear on how doctors can integrate patient data into treatment plans.

As with every new advancement, whether wearables or the aging well tech market, there will be new challenges. How well we can overcome those challenges is dependent on how well we can work together. Industry and public health leaders, for instance, can collaborate to provide Americans with technology-based, connected healthcare that is accessible and meaningful, which will increase adoption rate and confidence in healthtech in the midst of rapid change and modernization.

Improving Lives

Big data and the Internet of Health Things are only as useful as the connections we can create. At Philips, we’ve made it a priority to consider the ways we can apply meaningful innovation across the health continuum, from healthy living and prevention to diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and home care.

We’re applying innovative problem solving – the lifeblood of our organization — to build strong, dynamic partnerships and to seek solutions that draw equally from our experience with healthcare technology and consumer products.

For example, Philips built the HealthSuite Digital Platform (HSDP), an open and secure, cloud-based IT infrastructure that supports the secure collection and analysis of all types of data related to our health and lifestyle. Doctors can access diagnostic data from multiple devices and sources and coordinate this data with electronic medical records, diagnostic and treatment information, medical images and more. The platform enables health professionals to work more efficiently across a wide range of sources and enables patients to take a more active role in managing their personal health.

The possible applications for a platform like this are nearly limitless across private and public sector health operations. Philips is also working with Salesforce to integrate its platforms and establish an ecosystem of patient-engagement and clinical workflow applications which enable a step change in patient care.

Such industry-wide advancements will require upstream movement. Change is never easy; it always starts with a shake up in the way things used to be. The changes and possibilities on our horizon are massive – on the scale of past public health innovations like vaccination and water chlorination – and will come with great challenges. We must start by breaking down existing barriers to truly collaborate between health systems, government, academia and industry partners.

Through this collaboration and innovation, we can make a better world. We can make healthcare more accessible and affordable for patients and tax payers, with better outcomes in everything from self-management to more accurate diagnoses.

When we have within our reach the opportunity to change life-altering diseases and revolutionize the way of life for millions of Americans, we can’t afford to work in isolation. We need to share expertise across sectors. Together, we can realize the best ideas.