Fourth-annual Connected Health Summit to address customization of healthcare through IoT

Parks Associates today announced new digital health research showing that 21% of U.S. broadband households use a wellness, fitness, or diet app. The firm’s research reveals moderately positive NPS scores for these apps, with 38% of respondents likely to recommend them to a friend or family member, while 23% are hesitant to do so, resulting in an overall NPS of 15.

“NPS scores for wellness apps are below those for other, more mature industries such as tablets or online entertainment services,” said Harry Wang, Senior Research Director, Parks Associates. “There are also great variations by app brands, with Fitbit scoring the highest NPS at 32. The wellness app industry has a lot of catchup work to gain consumer trust, and key to their future success is to focus on delivering an excellent user experience through customization and personalization.”

Parks Associates will examine the personalization of healthcare through IoT and smart tech during the fourth-annual Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers, August 29-31 in San Diego. The event 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.

Wang will moderate the session “Precision Medicine: Customizing Healthcare through IoT and Smart Tech” at 8:45 a.m. on Wednesday, August 30. This opening panel will look at how the healthcare industry will translate the precision medicine concept into practice and what business opportunities are available for technology providers. Joining Wang on the panel are the following speakers:

• Kari Hall, VP, Global Services, ResMed Software as a Service (SaaS) Business, ResMed
• Phillip LaJoie, VP, Operations, 2bPrecise
• John Mattison, MD, Chief Medical Information Officer, Kasier
• Sreeram Ramakrishnan, Ph.D., VP–Health and Business Analytics, UPMC Insurance Services
• Rick Valencia, President, Qualcomm Life

“Poor adherence or non-adherence to medical treatment costs an estimated $290 billion annually in the U.S. and is arguably one of the biggest challenges we face in healthcare,” said Kari Hall, VP, Global Services, ResMed Software as a Service (SaaS) Business, ResMed. “Connected healthcare has a clear and positive impact on improving patient engagement and increasing their adherence to treatment—and the body of published research to support it continues to grow. I’m looking forward to discussing these opportunities more in depth at the Connected Health Summit's opening panel."

“Some people claim the wearables and consumer health app trend is over. I would argue they’re just moving into the second phase,” said Rick Valencia, President, Qualcomm Life. “While the consumer craze has certainly flattened out, the best companies are now finding ways to adapt their products to healthcare. Having more consumer-focused companies developing medical-grade solutions will be a great thing for the industry and help with one of the biggest industry challenges—patient engagement.”

The session “Healthcare UX: Designing the Best Customer Experience,” 11:15 a.m. on August 31, invites leading healthcare and UI design organizations to discuss their digital service platform innovations and their impact on the customer experience, patient engagement, and care outcomes. The panel features the following speakers:

• Scott Plewes, VP, User Experience, Macadamian
• Stuart Slutzky, Chief, Product Innovation, Humana Wellness Solutions
• Kevin Yamazaki, CEO, Sidebench

“Not only is designing for the patient (with the patient) essential in creating a personalized experience—it is critical in ensuring patient engagement and adoption,” said Scott Plewes, VP, User Experience,Macadamian. “It isn't just enough to design a solution that is easy to use; it must meet a need and provide a meaningful experience.”

“In rebranding and rebuilding Humana’s reward-based wellness program, Go365, we sought to improve our best-in-class consumer experience with a personalized, connected and intuitive approach to health and wellness,” said Stuart Slutzky, Chief of Product Innovation for Humana Wellness Solutions. “This was critical so that members maintained engagement, which we've linked to lower healthcare costs. We conducted extensive consumer testing at all stages of development of our new platform. The result has been increased engagement, even with the confusion that often comes with the introduction of a new brand.”

“As consumer expectations evolve and we move to value-based care, healthcare organizations need to make the user experience a strategic priority, and that’s going to require leaders to think outside the box of the traditional hospital and adopt new workflows and technology," said Kevin Yamazaki, Chief Executive Officer, Sidebench.

The fourth-annual Connected Health Summit provides in-depth analysis and discussion on the implications of the connected healthcare revolution and the resulting consumerization of healthcare.

Event sponsors include Independa, iQor, Reemo Health, AARP, Alarm.com, BodiMetrics, Macadamian, mPulse Mobile, PokitDok, ULE Alliance, Vivify Health, Z-Wave, California HealthCare Foundation, Best Buy, Good Samaritan Society, Rapid Response Monitoring, Freeus, and MobileHelp Healthcare.

Registration is open for the fourth-annual Connected Health Summit and media are invited to attend. For more information, visit www.connectedhealthsummit.com. To schedule an interview with an analyst or to request specific research data, please contact Julia Homier at julia.homier@parksassociates.com, 972-996-0202.

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.