Vickey IOM

An Overview:

Consumer Facing Digital Health Technology:

What Is It and What Are The Challenges?

Ted Vickey MSc, PhD (ABD)President – FitWell LLC

Institute of Medicine Roundtable on Health LiteracyWashington, DC - March 2015

advisor

Can consumer facing digital health technology really help people live

healthier lives?

What is Consumer Facing Digital Health

Technology?

WHAT IS IT ?

AppsWearablesWebsites

“Digital Health innovation takes longer than you think and happens faster than you think at the same exact time."

Unity Stoakes

We keep our phones within arms reach 91% of the time

There are more users of fitness apps than there are members of health clubs

73% of users say they are healthier today because of

their app

Mobiquity, 2014

69% of mobile health users think tracking their health and fitness on their smartphone is more important

than using it for social networking or online shopping

46% say tracking has changed their overall approach to maintaining their health or the health of another

40% of trackers say it has led them to ask a health professional new questions or to get a second opinion

34% say it has affected a decision about how to treat an illness or condition.

…and then there is the rest of the story.

…the world suggests a different story.

Age‐adjusted Prevalence of Obesity and Diagnosed Diabetes Among U.S. Adults Aged 18 Years or Older

Obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2)

Diabetes

1994

1994

2000

2000

No Data            <14.0%        14.0%–17.9%        18.0%–21.9%       22.0%–25.9%        26.0%

No Data               <4.5%         4.5%–5.9%           6.0%–7.4%          7.5%–8.9%               >9.0%

CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation. National Diabetes Surveillance System available at http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/statistics

2010

2010

Consider the following:

• An increasing number of people with chronic disease account for a disproportionate percentage of overall health costs.

• 84% of national healthcare dollars• approximately 99% of Medicare spending

Source: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2006 and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Chronic Care: Making the Case for Ongoing Care, February 2010

Projections are it could get worse…

• Nearly half of the U.S. population suffers from one or more chronic diseases

• By 2020, the number of Americans suffering from multiple chronic diseases is expected to reach 81 million, up from 63 million in 2005.

Source: Bodenheimer, T., E. Chen, and H.D. Bennett. “Reorganizing Care: Confronting the Growing Burden Of Chronic Disease: Can the U.S. Health Care Workforce Do the Job?” Health Affairs. January/February 2009. 28:164

“Users love apps, but providers hesitant”

• Only 16% of healthcare providers are using mHealth apps in their with patients,

• Almost half of healthcare providers expect to use them to their practice within the next five years,

• While healthcare providers are well aware of the benefits, most are still reluctant to jump in.

Source: 2015 Research Now Survey - 500 healthcare professionals and 1,000 health app users

Primary reasons for U.S. internet users to access mobile health and fitness apps as of March 2014

Source: Research Now; Website (Mobiquity); eMarketer; ID 298033

30%

28%

27%

7%

5%

2%

2%

0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0%

Goal tracking

Awareness of health issues

Motivation

Identifying unhealthy habits

Medication adherence

Connecting with an expert

Competition

Share of respondents

Pew Mobile Health 2012

Latino African American

Ages 18-49 College Degree

Smartphones

Groups more likely to use smartphone to gather health info

We are in the middle of a perfect storm

Smartphone usage

Tech Savvy users

Peer to peer healthcare

The Big Three

Convergence of technology and health

Smartphone usage

• Self-care: More than two-in-three seniors prefer to use self-care technology to independently manage their health.

• Wearables: More than three-in-five seniors are willing to wear a health-monitoring device to track vital signs, such as heart rate and blood pressure.

• Online Communities: Three-in-five seniors are somewhat or very likely to turn to online communities, (Patient Like Me) for reactions to a doctor’s recommendation before acting on it.

• Navigating Healthcare: A third of seniors would prefer to work with a patient navigator to manage their healthcare.

• Health Record Management: A quarter of seniors regularly use electronic health records for managing their health, projected to grow to 42% in five years, as consumer-facing tools increase.

Tech savvy senior users want tech access to their health

The Big Three

•Microsoft•Google•Apple

Challenge:

Privacy

Who owns the data?

Who has access to the data?

What will they do with the data?

Privacy

Challenge:

Lack of Standards

Recap:Consumer facing digital health technologies

• This area of tech is growing and changing

• Problems remain with access and equity

• Missing link – Health Literacy?

Question:

How can Health Literacy create the behavior change needed in Consumer Facing Health Technologies?

For further interaction:

vickey@fitwellinc.com

@tedvickey

www.linkedin.com/in/tedvickey