By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    What Are the Benefits of CBD?
    November 27, 2021
    How to Measure Adult Diapers- The Ultimate Guide to Picking the Right Size
    March 8, 2022
    medicine cabinet
    The Effect Of Finished Dosage Form Manufacturing In New Drugs
    July 5, 2022
    Latest News
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
    The Hidden Impact Of Stress On Your Body’s Alignment And Balance
    May 22, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    turo lawyer
    Why A Good Turo Lawyer Can Help Cover Medical Fees
    April 8, 2024
    Comprehensive Healthcare Treatment for Slip and Fall Injuries: A Guide to Recovery
    Comprehensive Healthcare Treatment for Slip and Fall Injuries: A Guide to Recovery
    December 26, 2023
    Medical Negligence
    The Impact of Medical Negligence: How Claims Can Help You Move Forward
    January 6, 2025
    Latest News
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
    Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
    June 25, 2025
    When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
    June 20, 2025
    Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
    June 15, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Will 2015 Be the Breakout Year for mHealth?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Finance > Will 2015 Be the Breakout Year for mHealth?
BusinessFinanceMobile Health

Will 2015 Be the Breakout Year for mHealth?

Anne Weiler
Anne Weiler
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

While on the one hand, many are proclaiming 2015 to be the year that M-Health finally becomes mainstream (and certainly CMS’s announcement that they will pay $42 per month for remote care for chronic diseases helps with that), the opening day keynote at the M-Health Summit last week at the Gaylord National Harbor Convention Center, seemed to suggest we are in the trough of disillus

While on the one hand, many are proclaiming 2015 to be the year that M-Health finally becomes mainstream (and certainly CMS’s announcement that they will pay $42 per month for remote care for chronic diseases helps with that), the opening day keynote at the M-Health Summit last week at the Gaylord National Harbor Convention Center, seemed to suggest we are in the trough of disillusionment.

In particular Walgreens Chief Medical Officer Harry Lieder and Partner’s Center for Connected Health Director Joseph Kvedar were pragmatic to almost pessimistic about how mobile health would be adopted by consumers, healthcare systems, and payers. While being realistic about how mobile health can help, who can benefit, and who will actually pay for it is a conversation we all need to be having, the tone of the opening day keynote was not so much about celebrating successes but shoring up the audience to continue the good fight.

Walgreens CMO, Lieder outlined four areas where he thought that M-Health could have an impact across the care continuum:

More Read

Image
Employers Encourage Healthy Choices by Hitting Your Wallet
Who Will Drive Social Media Use in Health Care? Part 1
The Disconnect Between Hospital Marketing and What Patients Need
Determining the ROI on Aquatic Therapy in Your PT Practice
Wearable Tech, CES2015, and the Quantified Self of Healthcare
  • Health, fitness, and well-being
  • Self-diagnosis
  • Acute care
  • Chronic care
mhealth summit

Source: M-Health Summit

He then went on to debunk the myths of the quantified-self, that is that consumers will take their health in their own hands if presented with information. He also talked about why wellness is not popular with insurers and employers: the impact of wellness programs is generally only in the long-term, for example 10-20 years, and most employers and insurers hope that any individual won’t be their problem for that long. Taking the short term approach, Lieder said there were really only two ways to have a successful m-health startup today: enable people to bill for an existing CPT code or show significant cost savings to the healthcare system in 12-18 months. This is the current reality of the healthcare system, but certainly not how we’re going to drive change. CPT codes are backward looking not about new ways of delivering care, and while ROI needs to be forthcoming, managing patients over their lives needs to be the goal of the healthcare system.

So with this grounding in the somewhat depressing realities of today’s situation, Lieder then announced that Walgreens has partnered with MDLive to offer in-store telemedicine visits. Their recognition that consumer health alone doesn’t change behavior and that patients need support prompted the introduction of this new service, Lieder said “We need people available behind the device to change behavior.” If you can’t fix the system, reinvent it! One speaker called pharmacy the “last mile” that is, the patient loses connection to the health system at the pharmacy so brining the health system to the pharmacy might be the solution.

Joseph Kvedar of Partners.org asked if 2015 would be m-health’s coming out party but said that until applications hit certain key criteria we won’t see widespread adoption. He asked that application builders make m-health apps usable, social, personalized, and with relevance to everyday life. From a patient’s perspective applications should know the patient, engage the patient on his or her terms, and empower the patient. Kvedar did not seem to think that applications had nailed these things yet, especially in the area of usability and that we don’t get this right (and soon) m-health will “go down as another tech bubble.”

Joseph Kvedar

Source: MHealth Summit

M-health has had a lot of hype, and while this keynote provided some grounding in the reality of the market today, it seemed that this might have been a better keynote for the second or third day. Day one, it would have been nice to hear some success stories. After this keynote, I attended a session where one medical researcher spent most of the time explaining how she knew better on how to build good software than anything out there. We m-health entrepreneurs definitely need to get better at telling our success stories. It seems the press to date has been too much hype and not enough clinical substance and ROI to make our case.

At Wellpepper, we predict that if m-health companies can show real clinical evidence, tell real patient stories, and find partners in the ACOs and other organizations that are passionately trying to change healthcare in this country, then 2015 really will be the breakout year for M-Health, and next year’s keynote will see us out of the trough of disillusionment and firmly into real value.

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share
By Anne Weiler
Follow:
Anne Weiler is CEO and co-founder of Wellpepper, a clinically-validated and award winning platform for patient engagement that enables health systems to track patient outcomes in real-time against their own protocols and personalize treatment plans for patients. Wellpepper patients are over 70% engaged. Prior to Wellpepper, Anne was Director of Product Management at Microsoft Corporation.

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

9 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Add Years to Your Life
9 Healthcare Lifestyle Tweaks That can Add Years to Your Life
lifestyle
July 11, 2025
car accident lawsuit
Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
Policy & Law
July 6, 2025
women dental care
What Is a Smile Makeover and How Much Does It Cost?
Dental health
June 30, 2025
HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps
Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
June 25, 2025

You Might also Like

facebook dislike
BusinessFinanceSocial Media

Are You Wasting Your Time with Facebook?

January 15, 2015

HIPAA for Web and Mobile Developers and Designers

May 18, 2014

New Fund with Stanford Hospital Invests in Stanford Entrepreneurs

September 9, 2013
Relative Value Unit (RVU)
BusinessFinanceHospital AdministrationPolicy & LawPublic Health

Understanding RVUs | Medicare Reimbursement

April 14, 2014
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?