Digital Health Trends - Blue Highway Inc.

Financial services firm Burril & Company reported that private financing in digital health tripled in the first half of 2012.? During this time, four digital health startups received funding that amounted to $211 million, exceeding the total digital health funding in 2011.

Within this expanding industry there are several key emerging trends:

• Mobile health (mHealth)has changed how physicians and patients interact.? This trend has allowed for ambulatory health monitoring that gives the provider the ability to remotely monitor the desired health state of a patient in real-time.? This July, an analysis of consumer health apps revealed that there are over 13,000 iPhone health and fitness apps available.?? These apps have increased patient independence by transforming a smart phone into a personal health assistant that can help you with everything from daily diet and exercise to smoking cessation and chronic conditions. ??Social and digital channels enable- and are really all about ? listening and a two-way dialog.? They enable physicians to be there with their patients all the time- not just in the exam room,? said Ted Eytan, Director at Kaiser Permanente within the Permanente Federation, LLC.?
• Electronic Health Records (EHRs) allow practices to have an organized, systematic filing system of patient history that automates and streamlines the clinician?s workflow.? EHR reduces medical error due to accuracy and clarity of records and makes health information readily available thus reducing duplication of tests and delay in treatment.
• Social media has expanded into the digital health market with an array of websites.? There are support networks for cancer, doctor reviews and ratings, healthcare comparison sites and websites that allow you to make appointments online.? Bigger social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter enable these sites to spread rapidly.
• Gaming has also managed to expand into the digital health industry.? In 2011, the gaming industry totaled $70 billion trumping the music ($40 billion) and movie ($30 billion) industries.? ?The beauty of a game is that it gives you a goal? said Debra Lieberman of the Institute for Social, Behavioral and Economic Research (ISBER) at the University of California, Santa Barbara.? Games have been developed for medical professional training, symptoms monitoring and even support games such as ?Re-Mission,? a video game for young people living with Cancer.

What are some other emerging trends in health care?? Are they advancing our health care system or is it complicating it?? What do you think of the direction digital health has taken so far this year?

Source: http://www.blue-highway.com/digital-health-trends/

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