Build it and They Will Telemed?

In the healthcare device and software industry, the mantra: build it and they will come doesn’t work. It hasn’t worked since Noah built an ark or the movie Field of Dreams was made. Ignoring the user experience is what’s wrong with the healthcare experience and begs for innovation.

I recently attended the Continua Health Alliance conference in San Diego. If you’re not familiar with Continua, their current focus is to develop and influence interoperability guidelines and standards for wireless healthcare devices used in the home. Simply put, they certify these devices and ensure they can “talk to each other” and transmit wireless health data over the Web.

They’re making great progress both nationally and internationally.  They’ve certified over a dozen devices and have many more scheduled for approval this year.  I think Continua’s work is an important step towards the future of mobile health (mhealth) and mobile wellness (mwellness).

Datamonitor, a leading provider of online data and analysis services, forecasts that annual use and spending on telehealth (of which mhealth and mwellness are subsets) will nearly triple over the next three years, from the current $2.4 billion to $6.1 billion in 2012, leading to further healthcare innovation.

Unfortunately, I’m not convinced that Datamonitor’s forecast is realistic, and as much as I support Continua’s mission, I don’t think their current approach is enough to get mhealth and mwellness to the next level of innovation and adoption.

From what I’ve seen and heard so far, wireless industry organizations and their members are not addressing the most important elements associated with the success of wireless healthcare devices and software for consumers: the ecosystem and the user experience.

This was clear when Dr. Eric Topol, Professor of Translational Genomics at the Scripps Research Institute and Chief Medical Officer of the West Wireless Health Institute, posed a question to the audience during his very compelling presentation on 2010 becoming the “year of digital medicine.”  He asked, how many people have seen or know about GE’s Vscan™ Ultrasound Stethoscope, the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach™, FitBit™, or PiiX™ by Corventis.  Only a few people raised their hands. I was overwhelmed by the fact that the Continua Health Alliance, comprised of over 200 companies, is apparently unaware of the growing personal wireless ecosystem and where their products may or may not fit.

Imagine you have a 65-year-old grandmother who lives alone with congestive heart failure, Type 2 diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD, trying to use a wireless glucometer, blood pressure cuff, pulse oximeter, and peak-flow meter, each from a different manufacturer with a different look and feel, and different software and web interfaces.  How long do you think it will take before Grandma throws all these disjointed devices in the garage?  

And there’s the rub — a single product approach doesn’t work. The consumer experience has to be emphasized during the design process and has to consider and leverage the entire ecosystem of connected products and services to be successful. Designing and innovating in a vacuum doesn’t work.   Innovation is an accretive process and is best accomplished by co-creating  products and services directly with consumers.

So while I was at Continua’s conference, I asked many of the companies represented when they were planning on getting consumers involved in the design process.  No one had an answer, which was surprising, not least of all because the current  healthcare system is broken and the user experience is horrible. I’m reminded of this every time I go to a physicians office and they ask me to hop up onto what looks and feels like a piece of padded plywood with a roll of white butcher paper stretched across it.  Great metaphor isn’t it? 

When consumers are seeking emergent healthcare and concentrating on getting well they may not be focused on the challenges of this interaction. They’ll put up with the worst experiences. However, it’s a completely different story when consumers are seeking digital products and services to keep them well, because delivering digital healthcare and wellness is completely different than delivering analog healthcare.

At a minimum, here’s what I’d like to see wireless health organizations and device companies do in the coming months:

First, spend a day with consumers that actually have the disease that your devices are addressing.  Lay out an assortment of products (from different device companies) for them to use together. I would bet that at the end of the day there would be more than enough “ah-ha moments.”

Second, start thinking about developing a common software interface design language that all certified personal wireless devices should use.  This will take interoperability to the next level and provide consumers with the comfort they’re looking for as they customize products and services that work for them.

And third, go out and study the wireless healthcare ecosystem.  Understand what’s out there and how your products and services complement others.  Remember, consumers want integrated healthcare solutions, not single products.

Wireless health organizations and device companies have a unique opportunity to revolutionize digital medicine in the next few years.  It’s time to turn the white butcher paper healthcare experience completely on its head.  But it can’t be done unless consumers are invited to be an integral part of the innovation process.

Vincent Salvo, Head of Healthcare Innovation