May10

When Marketing is a Higher Calling

Posted by Amy Graham from Ogilvy CommonHealth Specialty Marketing - Parsippany, NJ

By Amy Graham from Ogilvy CommonHealth Specialty Marketing - Parsippany, NJ | Published: May 10, 2013

careI am not involved in marketing religious products, and trust me when I say that there is no divine intervention lending a hand as I write this. Instead, my higher calling is to market therapies and diagnostics in cancer, HIV and other difficult-to-treat disease states.

What drives a desire to market drugs in these disease states?

Let’s look at the oncology space in the US. Today, there are nearly 12 million living Americans who have received a diagnosis of cancer. They’ve heard those terrifying words, “You have cancer.” Or, “It’s back.” For a small few, cancer has become a chronic disease. But for the majority of patients, the struggle continues on. It’s that struggle that’s driven a unique partnership and bond between patients, caregivers and industry that allows us to dream of how we might impact the course of these diseases.

The hepatitis category is a fast-changing landscape, and is starting to follow many of the practices of both oncology and HIV marketing. As new and more tolerable treatment options become available, so too will the need for better and more comprehensive HCP and patient interaction. Therefore, how we work with all of these audiences is critical.

Why we do what we do

We’re marketers. As such, we still look to position our brand for success, striving to outperform our competitive set. We build a compelling plan and programs for our clients and brands that showcase the data, but also start to touch on the very human element of these diseases.

As a young girl I fondly remember 3 of my mother’s friends—all diagnosed with breast cancer. We lost each of them far too early in their lives. My memories are strong. I remember each of them losing their hair, the swelling of arms and fluid retention with removal of lymph nodes, and dealing with the loss of their breast(s)—both emotionally and physically. What I also remember is the rallying cry that went out from my mom and her friends. Together, they would do whatever was needed, divvying up chores for these women—helping to cook meals, do laundry, carpool kids and service basic human needs. For each of us who end up and stay in this space, there is a human element that is personal and has touched our own lives, so we feel the need to give back.

Giving back

Pharma/biotech companies and agencies alike get the occasional black eye for our deeds and misdeeds.  However in the cancer space I applaud my colleagues—we give back. In cancer care we see compassion and dedication that transcends brand, product and company. We walk to raise both money and awareness, we deliver hot meals, we paint and decorate infusion suites, we support various campaigns that allow patients to express themselves (art, writing, music, etc) and we provide tools and materials that hopefully make life a little bit easier for patient and caregiver. We give back and try to respond to that higher calling we’ve been charged with. With these small gestures we try to touch a life, we hope to impact a life. But in the end, it’s our own lives that are forever changed, forever impacted.

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May8

Is It “Health Insurance,” or Merely Prepaid Health Care?

Posted by Stephen Lubiak from OCH Payer Marketing- NJ, North America

By Stephen Lubiak from OCH Payer Marketing- NJ, North America | Published: May 8, 2013

PillThe Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) goal is to provide health insurance coverage to those without it now, and it uses 2 main mechanisms to do so. It penalizes individuals without insurance, thereby encouraging them to sign up for health insurance. (In order to support this effort, the law creates state insurance exchanges to offer health plans to consumers.) The law also penalizes employers (with 50 or more employees) that do not offer health insurance to their workers. So, these employers will either need to add insurance if they don’t currently offer it, or maintain or modify what they now offer to their employees…or else pay a fine.

As the ACA proceeds to full implementation, it’s probably polite to say that various “inconsistencies” in the law are emerging. While “self-pay” employers may still exercise some degree of freedom in adding, maintaining, or modifying their health insurance offerings, the law is determining many of the characteristics of health insurance offered to the public via health care exchanges.

It’s interesting to note that 2 key requirements of the law undermine the basics of insurance, which is defined simply as “coverage by contract whereby one party undertakes to indemnify or guarantee another against loss by a specified contingency or peril.”

The first requirement is that all beneficiaries pay essentially identical rates, regardless of their risk factors. One of the few recognitions of varied risk among the population, an individual’s age, is still subject to constraint (older people cannot be charged more than 3 times the premiums charged to younger people). The other requirement is that insurance companies should ignore individuals’ preexisting conditions when writing new policies. While this rule is popular—no one wants to deny health insurance coverage to a cancer survivor—it also could encourage people to wait until they are sick before they purchase insurance.

Additionally, the law’s definition of an insurance plan’s “essential health benefits” may also contribute to an unintended result: a small set of insurance offerings on health care exchanges that are all generally very expensive, due to the fact that the policies are required to cover many things. One possible effect on consumers is that they will pay higher premiums.

Let’s go back to employers. Year-over-year health care cost increases have recently moderated, but over the long term they have traditionally been higher than the rate of overall consumer inflation. Some employers may use the soon-to-be-created state exchanges as an opportunity to withdraw the health insurance they offer to their employees. Employers who still plan to offer health insurance will continue to scrutinize costs and seek ways to mitigate their increases. They may continue to restrict the breadth of offerings in their health plans (a trend that is opposite to the expansion of essential health benefits above). Another mechanism that works is to shift more costs to their employees in the form of higher premiums, copays, coinsurance and deductibles.

So, in the 2 areas that the ACA seeks to create new health insurance opportunities (state-based exchanges and newly regulated employer markets), the individual will most likely pay a greater share of costs and have a greater responsibility to evaluate his insurance policy as well as the health care interventions he receives.

What does this mean for marketing communications?

One question facing employers, employees, payers and consumers will be the role and importance of deductibles, copays, and coinsurance. These patient payments are essentially behavioral-change tools, encouraging the patient to “shop wisely” because he is spending his own money on health care. Will these mechanisms continue to work as they have in the past? It may depend on which segment of the market grows larger: the state-based exchanges or the employer-provided plans.

On the one hand, if the law is encouraging fewer, similar insurance offerings on state exchanges, it will hardly be easy for insurance companies to differentiate one policy from another. If the offerings from health plans become expensive and undifferentiated, with most of their benefits “prepaid” by premiums, how much impact will deductibles, copays, and coinsurance have? Would this also complicate manufacturers’ efforts to differentiate their products to insurers, providers, and patients/members?

On the other hand, if employers are restricting benefits in their heath plans and shifting more and more costs to employees, employees will be using more of their funds to pay for premiums, and there may be less left for deductibles, copays, and coinsurance. With fewer health care dollars available, the employee may respond more to the cost effects of those patient payments.

Readers, what will be the health plan implications for related drug and device issues such as tier placement, contracting terms, and pricing? What marketing efforts are still needed? And to whom should they be directed?

Source:

  1. Merriam-Webster. Definition of “insurance.” http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/insurance. Accessed April 22, 2013.

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Apr16

Introducing Once-Monthly Tournamax?

Posted by David Leonardi from Ogilvy Healthworld-NY, North America

By David Leonardi from Ogilvy Healthworld-NY, North America | Published: April 16, 2013

Basketball PersonSo, like most of us, my experience spans multiple therapeutic areas. I’ve worked in the field of Rheumatology. Created campaigns in Oncology. Produced TV spots, print ads and RM programs in Pulmonology, Gastroenterology and Dermatology.

But I’ve been thinking over the last few weeks, what if our industry expanded to yet another fast-growing scientific field that sweeps the nation every year: Bracketology.

I’m sure someone, somewhere, is working on the drug to help. Therefore, I’ve taken the liberty of preparing the TV script so we’re locked and loaded for the DTC launch.

Open on the appropriate and ubiquitously RC-friendly activity of a Big Dance. An announcer would say…

Announcer: If you’re a college basketball fan and suffer from sleepless nights, indecision making your picks and general anxiety at the start of spring, you could be suffering from March Madness.

Once-monthly Tournamax can help. Only Tournamax provides clarity and faith to help you identify potential upsets, make sense of any Missouri Valley Conference entries and avoid a complete bracket implosion. And it’s not a steroid.

Tournamax is not for golf aficionados. Side effects may include sweaty palms during the Final Four, nausea if your alma mater loses early, and swollen egos. Tournamax can lead to random screams of “go” followed by a color, most commonly blue and orange. If a 16-seed beats a 1-seed, stop taking Tournamax immediately and contact your doctor.

It’s your bracket. It’s your office pool. It’s your Tournamax.

I’m telling you, if we can launch brands for Thrombocytopenia Purpura in Hematology, we got this.

 

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Mar21

Telemedicine for All – The Future of Distance Diagnosis

Posted by Maureen Ruff from Ogilvy CommonHealth Wellness Marketing, North America

By Maureen Ruff from Ogilvy CommonHealth Wellness Marketing, North America | Published: March 21, 2013

telemedSeventy-nine years and never sick a day in her life…until 79½. Diagnosis was grim: pancreatic cancer that has metastasized to the liver. Stage 4, inoperable. It rang over and over in our ears…unbelievable.

Mom wasn’t a medicine person—barely took an Advil. She wasn’t overly fond of doctors but would go when she was supposed to. So seeking out a second opinion wasn’t going to be an option. We’d be lucky if she’d try chemo. Although the oncologist she went to provided treatment options, we would never know if there was more that could have been done. Too bad we couldn’t get a second opinion; maybe a pancreatic cancer specialist could have reviewed her case—all without leaving her doctor’s office. Who knows if Mom would have gone for that, but it would have been a great option when seemingly all hope was gone.

Luckily, for those who do want it, telemedicine is here and provides patients exactly that option.  Without traveling out of state or even out of your doctor’s office, patients can now connect with specialists anywhere across the globe for diagnosis, treatment regimens, or guidance when the news is, well, unbelievable.

Understanding Telemedicine

The best doctor for your condition might not be in your neighborhood, but rather across the country. Imagine if you live in New Jersey but the thought leader is located in San Francisco. It might not be feasible for you to hop on an airplane, but with the click of a mouse you might be able to gain a diagnosis. Imagine a doctor in Chicago asking a child in Florida to open wide and say “ahhh”—this is happening today because of the new technologies and advanced healthcare networks that are making telemedicine a likely future for patients and healthcare professionals.

But many ask, is this too good to be true? Telemedicine is rapidly growing and is becoming a cost-effective alternative to the more traditional face-to-face way of providing medical care. Although it may take a few moments to get used to speaking to a TV monitor versus speaking to your doctor in person, the assessment can be as real as speaking to your physician face to face.

Patients may not feel comfortable without the typical hands-on, in-office experience they were once used to. However, now telemedicine opens doors to gain the expertise of a doctor who specializes in your disease state—although he or she might not actually be in your “state.”

Distance Diagnosis
How is it done, you may ask? Technology such as cameras and screens are making it affordable and effective for doctors to examine patients without actually being there. More hospitals and medical practices are adopting these techniques, finding that they save money and for some patients work as well as flesh-and-blood visits.

Right now, telemedicine may seem a bit futuristic and perhaps too expensive for the average patient. But historically, technology decreases in price over time, so telemedicine may become a way for patients to get better care for less money. Maintaining a convenient office location with a large support staff may no longer make sense for busy physicians. They may move to a model where they can serve patients in need from anywhere in the world.

In fact, actually seeing a physician face to face may become an optional recommendation determined by your doctor.

The question remains: does or will telemedicine change the outcomes for future patients? Would it have made a difference for Mom? Maybe. We’ll never really know, but it is certainly starting to change medicine for today’s patients. Earlier detection, less upfront guesswork, and leveraging the best resources might just start to shift healthcare in the direction of, well, the patient’s health. Today, patients AND doctors have access to the information and expertise to deliver the best possible treatment…no matter where they happen to be.

So, when the doctor you need is hundreds of miles away, you may just need to pick up the remote, aim it at the flat-screen TV and say “ahhh” into the camera. The good news is the “doctor is in” and your results are only a click away.

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Mar18

SXSW 2013: Bad Behavior – the Saga of SXSW

Posted by John Nosta from OCH Specialty Marketing - Parsippany, North America

By John Nosta from OCH Specialty Marketing - Parsippany, North America | Published: March 18, 2013

sxsw logoAs you act, so you become

Health and digital health are emerging themes at this year’s SXSW.  The chatter is robust, the personalities many, and the health and fitness devices ubiquitous.  The behavior is also legendary.  One notable tweet was: “SXSW is a fountain of knowledge where all go to drink!”  And while this is partly true, it’s the behavior that really got my attention this year—but not what you think.

My observations were around health behavior as it relates to the digital health movement that is taking hold at SXSW.  The “device” was clearly embraced by the attendees.  From higi to dosIQ, the technological mechanics and theories seem to be in place to transform your smartphone to a wellness device that’s going to save your life.  At least, that’s the desired impact.  But it all seems to hinge on this huge leap of faith—will people really do it?

I’m not sure.

Communication must empower innovation

The success of digital health is a function of both technology and a story well told.  We all know about the Higgs particle.  It’s the biggest discovery in physics in the last 100 years.  Some even call it the “God Particle.”  But I challenge anyone to provide a brief description of any aspect of this innovative discovery.  Simply put, there’s a disconnect between the discovery and the relevance.  Similarly, I’m afraid that the mishmash of health devices has become more of a novelty than a true innovation.  And while CERN, the lab that discovered the Higgs particle, continues to receive praise, so do the likes of device manufacturers such as Scanadu, Misfit Wearables, and Fitbit.

Understanding the nature of the health dialogue and how it impacts outcomes is an essential part of the digital health journey.  The complicated discussion of disease is already largely broken in the physician’s office.  And adding to this complexity is the “sell” of digital health.  And conversely, the hectic and often confused lifestyle of a patient (I’m not talking about the fitness freak, where adoption is much simpler) doesn’t bode well for engagement and learning.

So, maybe we need to add a few more presentations at next year’s SXSW around driving the correct behavior when it comes to digital health.  The technology side of the equation seems to be coming together, but the human side is still a bit unclear.  “Build it and they will come” doesn’t always apply to health.  And digital health is no exception, regardless of how cool or sexy.

Check out OCHWW’s other SXSW 2013 blog posts:

SXSW 2013: Small Data in a World of Big Data

SXSW 2013: How Zombies Are Helping Us Get Fit

SXSW 2013: BIG Data and Personal Technology at SXSW

SXSW 2013: The Mobile Healthcare Revolution

SWSW 2013: Empty Information Calories

 

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Mar12

SXSW 2013: The Mobile Healthcare Revolution

Posted by Martha Walz from Ogilvy CommonHealth, Parsippany, NJ

By Martha Walz from Ogilvy CommonHealth, Parsippany, NJ | Published: March 12, 2013

Fitness+AppMobile has come to healthcare, and in a big way. From digital healthcare products that created a buzz at CES in January to innovative new fitness apps on display at SXSW this week, it’s clear to see that mobile technology will change the way we manage our health. But it also has the potential to revolutionize healthcare globally.

mHealth apps have the potential to improve patients’ quality of life while at the same time reducing healthcare costs. Remote monitoring of patients will reduce the need for face-to-face consultations, saving patients time and money. Electronic health records (EHRs) save on administrative costs for practices and hospitals. Mobile technology can also help save lives in situations where typically nothing can be done. For instance, a mobile heart monitor allowed a doctor to diagnose heart conditions in passengers in-flight on two separate occasions over the past two years–http://bit.ly/WOFeFt. In one case, he diagnosed the passenger as having a heart attack, which led to the pilot making an emergency landing so the passenger could receive treatment.

While a lot of mHealth focuses on such advanced apps and technologies, simple SMS messages can have a great impact on healthcare as well. SMS appointment reminders can reduce the incidence of missed appointments, while text reminders can increase compliance for patients undergoing treatment for chronic conditions.

TxtAlert, an open source project developed by Praekelt Foundation, has exclusively been used for over two years to send antiretroviral treatment reminders to patients in South Africa. According to a report from GSMA and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the success has been resounding with missed appointment rates declining from 27% to 4%. Additionally, SIMpill, a medication management system that detects noncompliance with medication regimens, uses SMS reminders. Results showed 94% compliance in a tuberculosis trial and a 92% cure rate.

Increased compliance and cure rates coupled with lower costs and less hassle for patients is a perfect recipe for patients and healthcare providers alike to adopt mobile solutions in healthcare. This mobile healthcare revolution has the potential to lead to a much higher quality of life for people the world over.

Check out OCHWW’s other SXSW 2013 blog posts:

SXSW 2013: Small Data in a World of Big Data

SXSW 2013: How Zombies Are Helping Us Get Fit

SXSW 2013: BIG Data and Personal Technology at SXSW

SXSW 2013: Bad Behavior – the Saga of SXSW

SXSW 2013: Empty Information Calories

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Mar11

SXSW 2013: BIG Data and Personal Technology at SXSW

Posted by Matt Balogh from Ogilvy CommonHealth, Parsippany, NJ

By Matt Balogh from Ogilvy CommonHealth, Parsippany, NJ | Published: March 11, 2013

4153048(2)Big data isn’t new. We’ve been talking about it for years. What’s new is where it’s coming from and what we’re doing with it.

When it comes to personal information, the term big data used to be synonymous with Big Brother. Google, DoubleClick, pretty much anything you did online was tracked, categorized, and sold. The value exchange wasn’t there (or at least it wasn’t obvious)—so people resisted.

Today that’s not the case. Big data is still there, but we have a new rallying call: context. A personalized layer of technology is built on the aggregate data of yesterday and then combined with personalized data of today linked to deliver real value to users.

The wearable technology that generates personal data is a huge theme at #SXSW this year. Nike has Nike+ and the FuelBand to measure track activity, Oakley has Airwaves for real-time feedback to skiers, Artefact created a Pilates shirt that monitors body position, Google has Project Glass (which we all know), and now a live-feedback talking shoe.

Personal data stemming from mobile technology is in ready supply.  Think of all the things you tell your smartphone.  We list our friends and family in our contacts, we search and browse the Web for things that interest us, and we have favorite apps like Facebook we use all the time. Facebook alone captures tons of data on our likes, dislikes, interests, birthday, and several other demographics.  Gimbal, a mobile contextualization platform dubbed the “digital 6th sense” released by Qualcomm last year, does more than just track you—it uses this data to learn about you.

Indirectly, these devices come standard with a plethora of sensors. Our phones know where we are at all times, how fast we’re moving, in what direction, and at what elevation. They know where we came from, how long we stayed, and where we went next. All that plus the option to add even more personal sensors. Fitbit will track both your activity and your sleep; iHealth tracks your weight, blood pressure, heart rate, body fat, muscle mass, blood glucose, pulse oximetry, and much more.

These devices know everything from who our friends are to what food we like and what’s happening in our own bodies. And because we have begun experiencing the value of the data they collect, we’re okay with it.

Big data isn’t new. What’s new are the wearable and mobile technologies we use to track, optimize, and augment our daily lives.  We no longer fight big data, we contribute to it.

As the SXSW presenters of the Sensor Technologies: The Future of Health talk asked, can you imagine a world in which all your physiologic parameters were measured, monitored, and managed in such a way that you always maintain perfect health?  That world may be just around the corner.

Check out OCHWW’s other SXSW 2013 blog posts:

SXSW 2013: How Zombies Are Helping Us Get Fit

SXSW 2013: Small Data in a World of Big Data

SXSW 2013: The Mobile Healthcare Revolution

SXSW 2013: Bad Behavior – the Saga of SXSW

SXSW 2013: Empty Information Calories

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Mar8

SXSW 2013: How Zombies Are Helping Us Get Fit

Posted by Martha Walz from Ogilvy CommonHealth, Parsippany, NJ

By Martha Walz from Ogilvy CommonHealth, Parsippany, NJ | Published: March 8, 2013

Zombies Running_1Zombies seem to be everywhere these days, from the big screen (Zombieland, 28 Days Later)  to the small screen (The Walking Dead), to the smallest screen (Plants vs. Zombies). And now they are invading our fitness regimes as well, thanks to a new app, Zombies, Run!, an app that combines immersive storytelling with video game play to make exercise a fun and exciting adventure.

Many mobile apps “gamify” fitness—applying  game-design thinking, turning exercise into points to make it a game. Many companies employ similar fitness competitions at their workplaces, using the number of steps taken per day, number of minutes exercised per week, or percentage of weight lost over a pre determined period of time. Apps take this a step further by adding a social component, encouraging users to add their friends to see how they stack up against them.

Some apps take it to the next level by integrating social media, allowing users to post their progress to their favorite social networks. That social component adds an element of accountability: if Joe posts that his goal is to run a 5K in three months and posts his daily runs on Facebook, his friends become invested in his success as well. If Joe is tired at the end of the workday and wants to skip his run, he might think twice, knowing that his friends are aware of his goal and might ask why he didn’t run that day. Sometimes this accountability is the extra kick that’s needed to decide to tough out a workout instead of scrapping it.

But back to the zombies. Zombies, Run! adds yet one more element to the mix: immersive storytelling. The setup is that you are Runner 5, and hundreds of people are counting on you to save them from zombies. The story is delivered through your headphones while running, and you have 33 missions to choose from, allowing for different speeds and types of workout. On the run, you collect items that you need for your base, and when you are done with your run, you can use these items in the app to rebuild your base. With this app, you become the hero of a story that continues each time you lace up for a run.

The creators of Zombies, Run! are speaking about this innovative new approach this weekend at SXSW. They believe that adding this extra level of entertainment to fitness apps might be the next big thing in digitally tracking personal health. Making exercise fun is exactly what the average American needs to get off the couch and get moving. And if zombies can’t do it, I’m not sure anything can.

Check out OCHWW’s other SXSW 2013 blog posts:

SXSW 2013: Small Data in a World of Big Data

SXSW 2013: The Mobile Healthcare Revolution

SXSW 2013: BIG Data and Personal Technology at SXSW

SXSW 2013: Bad Behavior – the Saga of SXSW

SXSW 2013: Empty Information Calories

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Also posted in behavior change, Digital, Healthcare Communications, Social Media, SXSW Interactive, Technology | Tagged , , , , | 1 Response
Jan18

Consumer Electronics Show 2013 (2 of 4): Digital Healthcare Goes from Geek to Chic

Posted by Martha Walz from Ogilvy CommonHealth, Parsippany, NJ

By Martha Walz from Ogilvy CommonHealth, Parsippany, NJ | Published: January 18, 2013

HAPIforkDigital healthcare has finally gone mainstream, as evidenced by the speaker presentations and products that created a buzz at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last week in Las Vegas. Long known as a tech geek paradise, CES showcases the latest and greatest in cutting-edge consumer electronics.

A keynote presentation, given by Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, focused on the benefit that the use of IT in healthcare can bring to people worldwide. “…[W]hat makes this a transformational moment is the barriers to innovation in the industry are coming down,” he said.

Illustrating that point, the competition in the health tech products field is being ignited by a convergence of more-affordable sensor technology and heightened consumer demand driven by increasing healthcare costs. Additionally, the wearable device market is expected to reach $1.5 billion by 2014, with a rapid growth in sensors, components, and system integration, according to a report published last fall by Juniper Research.

Healthcare was embedded into CES with the second annual Digital Health Summit, featuring such high-profile speakers as Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Reed Tuckson, and Dr. Otis Brawley. With such nationally recognized thought leaders participating in CES, the message of technology in healthcare was elevated even further. Similarly, the super session was headlined by Arianna Huffington and Deepak Chopra, who discussed devices that let us monitor everything from our stress levels to genetic sequences.

But the real stars of CES were the many health-related products that were launched. Among the products was an array of wristbands, belts, and other sensor-enabled wearable devices to monitor one’s lifestyle and fitness level. In the FitnessTech zone, more than 220 companies were on display, a 25% increase over last year. Below are the top five health-related products of the show.

Buzzworthy products

What better way to get people interested in taking care of their health than leveraging the ubiquitous smartphone that most people can’t seem to live without? Using smartphones and tablets, apps can now process personal healthcare data in real time, providing feedback and instant gratification that will spur users to stay on the right track.

The Fitbit Flex is a wristband that tracks activity and sleep patterns and syncs with a smartphone app to show you how active your lifestyle is. It syncs with an Android (Samsung Galaxy S III or Note II) device or iPhone via Bluetooth and uploads the data to an app as well as to an online profile. The band can measure how many steps you’ve taken, calories burned, and quality and amount of sleep. Four LED lights on the band show you how far along you are toward meeting that day’s goals. It will also gently buzz to wake you in the morning.

The biometric device Spree measures your temperature, tracks your movement, and monitors your heart rate. The device then streams that information to an iOS or Android app you can use to help you enhance your body’s performance. This information, along with data on distance traveled, speed, time, and calories burned, is then transformed into graphs to track progress.

Taking it one step further, GeoPalz incorporated gamification into getting fit, appealing to the younger generation. The ibitz PowerKey for kids connects to any Bluetooth-ready smartphone and uses a pedometer to track activity. This physical activity is then converted into “keys,” which unlock rewards, such as games, apps, shows, and custom prizes. There’s also an in-app GeoBotz character, which needs healthy food, exercise, and plenty of water to stay fit, mirroring the child’s health.

In addition to smartphone-leveraged devices, stand-alone electronic health-related gadgets also burst onto the scene.

Some of the biggest buzz in digital healthcare out of CES surrounded the HAPIfork, an electronic fork that helps you monitor and track your eating habits. It also alerts you with the help of indicator lights when you are eating too fast.  The data that it collects is uploaded via USB to an online dashboard to track your progress. The HAPIfork also comes with the HAPILABS app plus a coaching program to help improve your eating behavior.

In a much larger form factor, HealthSpot launched a cutting-edge telehealth system that provides high-quality medical diagnostic technology to patients anytime, anywhere. HealthSpot Station is a walk-in kiosk that will be located in everyday locations like pharmacies and grocery stores for patient diagnosis and medical treatment. Not only was this product launched at CES—showcasing the future of telemedicine—the healthcare kiosk was hand-picked by CEA (the organizing association for CES) for a premium location between two of the main exhibit halls. That location maximized foot traffic by the kiosk and increased the chatter surrounding digital in healthcare.

Looking to the future

With the decreasing costs of sensors and increasing interest in convenient ways to stay healthy, the digital healthcare market is sure to skyrocket in the future. Super-cool apps and wearable devices will continue to become daily staples in our lives. Could stillsuits be far behind?

CES 2013 Series:

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Jan18

Consumer Electronics Show 2013 (1of 4): Born Mobile

Posted by Matt Balogh from Ogilvy CommonHealth, Parsippany, NJ

By Matt Balogh from Ogilvy CommonHealth, Parsippany, NJ | Published: January 18, 2013

Born-MobileThis year, for the first time ever, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was kicked off with a keynote from a mobile company. Dr. Paul Jacobs, Chairman and CEO of Qualcomm, set the tone for CES with his presentation entitled Born Mobile (full video source: http://www.qualcomm.com/ces). Here are some highlights on what he had to say and what it means for pharma.

We can all look at the Gartner studies and realize there were nearly 430 million mobile devices (source: http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=2237315) sold in just the third quarter of 2012 and easily infer that mobile is quickly becoming the center of everything we do. But what does that really mean?

Today, 84% of people worldwide say they can’t go a day without their mobile device. Born Mobile recognizes that we live in a world where we can’t remember, or never knew, what it means to not be connected.

In developing countries, for example, the first computer you’ll ever own is likely to be a smartphone.  Simply because of the affordability, connectivity now exists where there was none. The power of this connectivity is breaking barriers and opening up new possibilities where just a decade ago industries did not exist, and it’s transforming healthcare.

Mobile-enabled telemedicine and e-health was a dream just a decade ago. Today we can leverage the power of our mobile-connected world to improve the healthcare of people everywhere, particularly in developing countries. But don’t take my word for it. In the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, “Today the technology most accessible to the poor and disenfranchised is the mobile phone. If we want a vehicle for reaching the underserved with interventions from health and other sectors of the economy, the mobile phone is the technology of choice. Mobile is going to have a transformative impact on the public health here and in Africa, and all around the world.”

To help make this dream a reality, Qualcomm has established a vision to actually create the fictional tricorder diagnostic tool. Yes, you read that right—a tool like the one found in Star Trek which will put the power of personalized health in your pocket. They’ve teamed up with the X Prize Foundation to offer $10 million to an innovative team that can really do it.

But wait, there’s more. A lot more. Mobile offers us a level of engagement we never got with the desktop computer. There’s GPS, second screen home integration, texting, video chatting, browsing the Internet, getting directions, checking email, and yes, even talking. All that, and you can take it with you when you go.

Taken together, Dr. Jacobs and Qualcomm have dubbed these features our digital “sixth sense.” We’re used to our vehicle navigators or smartphones giving us real-time traffic ahead and rerouting, or  receiving a Foursquare message noting when there is a friend in a nearby coffee shop, or hearing a chime and buzz in your pocket when you get a text or email. If we can do that, why not pull in information from sensors you wear, or even ones inside you? Tie that into sophisticated systems like a portable device Israeli doctors have developed for detecting strokes, and you don’t just extend your senses to the world around you, you know what’s going on inside you as well. Healthcare just got a lot more personal.

Pushing the limits of this is Gimbal, a context-awareness platform for mobile devices which consolidates the features of our digital “sixth sense” in the form of geo-fencing, image recognition, and audio recognition. Through Gimbal we can personalize user experiences and deliver contextually appropriate messaging when and where mobile users need it most.

The timing couldn’t be better. As EHR/EMR incentives drive health conversations toward wellness, treatment is becoming not just a pill, but a lifestyle. Mobile technologies like Gimbal are at the forefront of transforming the way we evaluate outcomes and treat chronic illnesses by merging the real word with the virtual world.

This year at CES, smartphones were at the center of everything we do.  Ford, for example, announced a developer program to integrate apps into their vehicles and Audi announced the first fully integrated 4g LTE automobile. They might feel like small steps to some, but the Internet of things is coming (lights, ac, security, cars, medical monitoring devices) and mobile is the keystone that makes it all possible.

With devices at the center of our digital life, the aforementioned push for patient-centric, outcomes-driven care can become a reality. Points of care are integrating into our life more frequently than just a visit to the doctor’s office. The rise of “swivel apps” (apps healthcare providers use to illustrate points and communicate with patients) and “prescription apps” (apps recommended to the patient by the doctor and even covered by insurance in some cases) are a solid indication how far we can take this. Have a smartphone? Take this app and text me in the morning.

What you read here is just the beginning. So much happened at CES that will literally set the tone for the rest of the year and beyond.

Snapdragon 800, Qualcomm’s new flagship mobile chip, boasts speeds of 2.3 GHz per core in a four-core processor. That’s better than a lot of laptops, enabling speeds demanded by most gamers with half the power of previous processors. Not sure what that means? It means Ultra HD video that provides four times better resolution than the pixels demanded by HD video for not just display, but for capture and send as well.

In healthcare that’s HUGE. Sure, YouTube and Netflix videos are huge, but consider a doctor who specializes in a treatment needed by a patient 10, 100, 1000 or even 10,000 miles away. How about a panel of doctors, all examining the patient with the clarity of Ultra HD?

Combine that with apps like the one being developed at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, which can pick up subtle changes in skin color by scanning blood vessels. Using a mobile device you can measure heart rate, heart rhythm, and respiration rate. Combine that with an external pulse oximeter and a mobile camera scan of the patient’s index finger which will yield blood oxygen saturation in just a minute. As if that’s not enough, after all the data is collected, the app will alert you if the heartbeat is irregular, indicating a possible atrial fibrillation.

Born Mobile isn’t a new generation of trendy kids with the latest devices. Sure, that’s part of it, but it’s the businessman who’s on the go, it’s the smartbooks in the classrooms, the grandparent who video-chats with the grandkids. Born Mobile is the underserved gaining new access to healthcare and connectivity where there was none and the doctors who treat those patients from across the world without ever leaving their offices. It’s everyone who buys the 1.2 billion smart devices that will be bought next year and the 5 billion that will be sold by 2016. It’s you. It’s me. It’s the future of healthcare.

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