Connected Health Summit to provide insights into investment climate for connected health market

International research firm Parks Associates announced new connected health research today showing that insurers and U.S. consumers spend more than $50 billion per year on home health services. Innovators Redrawing the Healthcare Landscape shows most spending is on visiting nurse services that include home rehabilitation, skilled nursing, chronic therapy services, and hospice and palliative care.

Parks Associates will host a panel of digital health investors, market incubators, and program directors at the fourth-annual Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers, August 29-31 in San Diego, California, to examine new innovations targeting this market. The panel will include a pitch session, similar to the TV show Shark Tank, where connected health startups present their business strategies to a panel of investors and market experts. The panel of investors will provide feedback on these innovations along with insights into the investment climate and future trends for the connected health market.

“Venture funding of connected health startups regained momentum in the second half of 2016,” said Harry Wang, Senior Director of Research, Parks Associates. “Startup Health, a connected health incubator, reported over $8 billion in venture funding in almost 600 startups in 2016, up from $5.8 billion in 2015.”

Parks Associates’ Innovators Redrawing the Healthcare Landscape notes the opportunity for new startups to take advantage of digital health technologies to monitor, guide, and support patients in their recovery process. These innovations have the potential to save both insurers and consumers money by optimizing home health services and reducing hospital length of stay.

“Digital connectivity through health and wellness devices and apps changes how consumers interact with the U.S. healthcare system and how care providers can more proactively manage consumers’ health,” Wang said. “This consumerization of healthcare technologies represents a significant opportunity to those who can spot it and build a business to pursue it.”

This year’s Connected Health Summit will address business strategies and consumer demand regarding connected health and virtual care. The conference will also provide strategic insights into service innovations, consumer engagement, care accountability, and platform design to determine successful approaches in the deployment of connected health solutions.

Parks Associates designs the conference agenda with expert insights from the event’s Advisory Board:

• Jeff Barkoff, Vice President, Healthcare Solutions, higi
• Chuck Hector, Chief Sales Officer, MDLIVE, Inc.
• Ranndy Kellogg, President and Chief Executive Officer, Omron Healthcare, Inc.
• Jeff Makowka, Director, Market Innovation, AARP
• Jay Mehta, Director, Strategic Partnership & Innovations, CVS Health
• Steve Morgan, SVP and Chief Medical Information Officer, Carilion Clinic
• Lainie Muller, Director, Wellness, Alarm.com
• Karissa Price, President, Emerging Business Division, Healthways, a Sharecare company
• David Rhew, M.D., Chief Medical Officer & Head of Healthcare and Fitness, Samsung Electronics America
• Karsten Russell-Wood, Director of Marketing, Philips
• Kian Saneii, Founder & CEO, Independa, Inc.
• Stuart Slutzky, Chief, Product Innovation, Humana Wellness Solutions
• Chanin Wendling, AVP, Informatics, Geisinger Health Systems

“The Advisory Board for the Connected Health Summit provides the perfect sounding board of industry leaders to validate higi’s mission to reach more people, physically and digitally, to impact health and wellbeing,” said Jeff Barkoff, Vice President, Healthcare Solutions, higi. “As both a conference participant and now an Advisory Board member, I’m overwhelmed by the collective wisdom and perspective this group of industry leaders has shared towards gradually and radically transforming the nature of health and healthcare. Forward-thinking insights from industry leaders continue to validate and shape how higi grows our business to maximally achieve our potential impact on health and wellbeing.”

“We are excited to be part of this Advisory Board to work closely with other industry leaders on how shared knowledge, insights, and resources can shape conversation and drive innovation to advance the role of technology in healthcare. There are significant opportunities in connected health for companies to work together to make discoveries and provide life-saving collaborative offerings,” said Ranndy Kellogg, President and CEO of Omron Healthcare.

“Ninety percent of people 65 years or older want to stay in their homes as they age – helping to create a more than $50 billion market for home health services,” said Karissa Price, President, Emerging Business Division, Healthways, a Sharecare company. “In my seven years in the space, I’ve seen a lot of very smart people and very clever technology solutions that just can’t seem to get the traction they need to help home health providers and the consumers they serve create sustainable, scalable models that provide better care outcomes and lower costs. I’m excited to be a part of Parks Associates’ Connected Health Summit, which showcases what is working in the homecare space and provides opportunities for entrepreneurs to get the exposure they need for the next generation of great ideas.”

“The Advisory Board is excited to offer an engaging and interactive lineup for this year’s Connected Health Summit,” said Stuart Slutzky, Chief, Product Innovation for Humana Wellness Solutions. “The goal is to not only get attendees to learn about new technologies that they can leverage, such as in-home voice command, but to also get them thinking about additional ways to help their patients or members get and stay healthy so they can continue to enjoy life with family and friends.”

 “Clinical teams work very hard to achieve the best outcome for the patient, with the patient being the most important participant in the clinical team,” said Chanin Wendling, AVP, Informatics, Geisinger Health Systems. “Digital technologies offer options to embed healthcare into the patient’s everyday life and share immediate feedback to all team participants in a way that is not feasible through just in-person visits.”

Innovators Redrawing the Healthcare Landscape is part of Parks Associates’ Connected Health Tracker service. It tracks the impact of digital technologies on the delivery of health services and identifies opportunities for technology companies and service providers to accelerate the consumerization in the health and wellness markets. The ongoing research service also analyzes consumer adoption and usage of healthcare devices and services and identifies the opportunities, business models, and engagement opportunities for care providers, device makers, fitness companies, and health programs.

Parks Associates is now accepting submissions for speakers for Connected Health Summit. Registration is also open, and media are invited to attend. For more information on participating, visit www.connectedhealthsummit.com.

About Connected Health Summit: Consumer Engagement and Innovation

Connected Health Summit: Consumer Engagement and Innovation is a virtual executive conference focused on the impact of connected devices and IoT healthcare solutions on consumers at home.

Connected Health Summit provides insights on new business models, IoT technologies, consumer behaviors, and deployments relevant to consumer healthcare solutions. The conference addresses opportunities for new solutions, including smart home platforms, on-demand services, voice assistants, and wearables, to empower consumers, caregivers, and providers and to meet the growing demand for services in independent living, chronic care management, remote access to care, and wellness and fitness.