Medical Devices and Monitors Drive Revenue to $12.8 billion by 2018

http://medcitynews.com/2014/05/convergence-arriving-home-health-market-going-give-revenues-boost/

#MedicalDevices and #FitnessMonitors will drive #HomeHealth from $5.7B to $12,8B in 2018 #Investment in #startup companies exceeds $3B.  This is a significant business in remote monitoring.  The technologies that will be layered onto the sensors will put accountability on the patient because of continuous monitoring and 24/7 access to relevant information.

Non-Invasive Glucose Monitors for Diabetes Care
Diabetes Care costs could possibly be reduced over time in exchange for better and more accountable care that is tracked on medical device monitors.  Most current health insurance plans limit diabetes test strip reimbursement to 4 Strips per day for people with Type 2 Diabetes.   The introduction of non-invasive glucose monitoring would allow significantly more tests to be take each day.  This additional monitoring will allow significantly more insight into providing customized care for diabetic patients.

The fact that there is a "underground market" for test strips indicates a compliance problem for some patients that receive Test Strips through insurance reimbursement or discounted plans.  The introduction of monitors will reduce the black market for Diabetes Monitor Test Strips and increase compliance with existing patients. The result in this case should be better care with better data.

The Diabetes Testing Market has 2 major types of devices.  The surgically implanted continuous monitor and the glucose needle stick that collects a little bit of blood and utilizes test strips.   The market for Diabetes Monitors is over $12 billion.  Google recently made a big splash, although somewhat of a reach technically, when they announced "Google Lens" which would detect glucose in a patient via tears in eyes of a Diabetic. The technology exists for non-invasive glucose monitors to hit the market within 3 years.

The non-invasive monitors will take hundreds of readings throughout a 24 hour period and provide a better view of the patient metabolism, health concerns, accountability, and outcomes.  Combining the monitoring of blood pressure, activity, nicotine, alcohol, and potentially cholesterol as well, will ensure that a healthcare consumer is being accountable in their own care.  Other information from a healthcare exchange, patient portal, or EMR / EHR could be layered onto this stream of glucose monitor data, including, medications, diagnosis, patient weight, etc....    

Medical Devices could become obsolete?

http://www.qmed.com/mpmn/medtechpulse/could-digital-health-make-most-medical-devices-obsolete

George Samaras of Samaras & Associates Inc., Pueblo CO suggested that 50% of Medical Devices could become obsolete as a result of trends in mobile health in a keynote at MD&M West.   The technology that is being demonstrated today should come online within the next 5 years and destroy the current landscape.  

Hot investment opportunities focus on Medical Device Monitors and Sensors

There is significant interest from #venturecapital #pharma and#healthinsurance companies in personal health monitors and sensors.  Google, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and others are changing the #MedicalDevice industry along with hundreds of startups.  Smart $$$ is moving to medical devices that monitor patient health.  This will build patient accountability into the system that does not exist under todays health delivery system in any significant manner.  The devices must clear FDA or other regulatory agency for efficacy and safety.  Of course positive outcomes is an expectation on the monitoring and aggregation of this data.

http://www.inc.com/christina-desmarais/3-hot-opportunities-in-health-for-tech-startups.html?cid=sf01001

Dialysis device processes credit card transactions. Patient Health Info at High Risk.

Dialysis device processes credit card transactions.  The number of health information systems and devices that is vulnerable to hacking and fraudulent transactions is increasing.  Over 700 medical devices were identified in a recent report.  VPNs are most vulnerable on the info system side.  #medicaldevices  #healthit #hacking #infosecurity #himss2014 

http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/news/2240214827/Study-Malicious-attacks-at-hospitals-risk-patient-data-health

Apple meets with FDA over Mobile Health Apps and Devices

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/01/31/apple-fda-mobile-medical-apps/5090349/


#apple   #medicaldevices   #fda   #mhealth   #ces2014   Apple and FDA met to discuss approval of medical device apps.  A former Medical Officer from Masimo a medical device manufacturer was at the meeting.  Some of the gadgets that were at CES may become actual FDA approved Medical Devices with potential for insurance reimbursement.   

Fenugreek once again proves itself in glucose management

#diabetes #supplement #diet #nutrition  Fenugreek has been used as part of King County, WA program for diabetes management for nearly 20 yrs.  Additional research supports use of medium to high levels in a Canadian study

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Research/Literature-supports-fenugreek-s-blood-sugar-management-potential-Meta-analysis/?utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BDaily&c=Kn1mmvStJBmUjiGGsQ8YtQ%3D%3D

Accountable Care Organizations savings are relatively small according to CMS

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/31/opinion/we-are-giving-ourselves-cancer.html?_r=0


http://lnkd.in/dju2XqQ #affordablecareact #physician #healthinsurance #medicare Numbers for ACO's from CMS show small savings. The average was $80 per year / per patient or $6.50 per month. The best performing ACO in the study was a Bronx, NY based Network that had been running like an ACO before the term was invented generating a savings of about $100 per year / per patient.

http://www.hiewatch.com/perspective/future-hie-private

    80% of the 220 State and Federal Exchanges are stalled or failing as federal funding dries up.  97% of insurance companies do not believe public exchanges are are viable.  Only 10 exchanges predicted to exist past 2017.  88% of physicians view insurers as being the group that can address the sharing of patient data.  If these numbers are true than we are looking at a collapse of the entire ACA system.  Insurers will look to the government for bailouts on costs incurred due to provisions in the ACA which raise costs.  Premiums will go up across the board.  People will once again be dropped from plans and have to find new care providers. Which will mean collected data that is utilized to improve outcomes will be lost or have to move to other private exchanges.   This is a fundamental problem with the ACA, while it's ideals are good for people, it is based upon a fundamentally flawed and failing business model.  Most of the time the "smartest people are outside of the room, not in the room."    This should be a wake up call to all healthcare consumers and healthcare providers.

George Washington had mail opened to gain intelligence secrets about British

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/01/29/if_george_washington_were_alive_he_d_be_reading_your_email_founding_fathers_nsa


#nsa #privacy #constitution #security Washington had a "mini NSA" Madison paid for prostitutes for British Ambassador

One of the first Clinical Trials information system to seamlessly communicate test result information from Investigators to Reference Laboratories to Pharmaceutical Companies.  This Product along with Protocol Master was utilized in Pharmaceutical Companies such as Roche, Johnson & Johnson (Janssen Division) and Otsuka America.  The Protocol Master product was used as a front end to an early Oracle database and incorporated coding for adverse events, WHO codes, ICD9, and CPT coding.  The system utilized the ASTM 1238 protocol for the clinical transactions.

The utility of the system was part of a demonstration at the DIA (Drug Information Association) meeting in 1992 by Otsuka America Pharmaceuticals.

Adaptive Clinical Trials Gaining Acceptance

Adaptive Clinical Trials

http://www.clinicalinformaticsnews.com/cln/2014/1/28/adaptive-clinical-trial-designs-gradually-gaining-acceptance.html

Healthcare IT problems persist. New technology. same issues!

Healthcare IT article Repositories were Clouds, Mobility were Modems

http://www.slideshare.net/ebukstel/corporate-computing-bukstel-halfpenny-drchart-emr-ehr-university-of-minnesota-hp-hl7-astm-1238?from_search=1

EMR designed by Ed Bukstel in 1987 and programmed by Charles Halfpenny resulted in a feature article in Corporate Computing concerning the Implementation Proposal for University of Minnesota, family medicine clinics, and information sharing across the enterprise.  Sound familiar?

The EHR and EMR applications and technologies that are being implemented "successfully" are at varying stages of "success."  As I look back and into the future, this is truly "deja vu all over again."