moving mhealth beyond the handset

Moving mHealth beyond the handset

Nick Hunn

See the presentation at:

http://www.mobilemonday.nl/category/events/14/14-talks/

• How Bluetooth low energy helps, and• Some practical mHealth business models

Bluetooth low energy

• It’s:– a NEW radio– a NEW protocol stack

• Ultra low power• Small, efficient packets• Designed for Internet

connected devices

Bluetooth low energy

• It’s thrown away:– application profiles– high data rates– high qualification costs– (compatibility with old devices)

• And,– made it easy to use

It will transform mHealth

My temperature is…My temperature is…

Your house burnt down at…Your house burnt down at…

I’ve stapled…I’ve stapled…

Your Heart Rate is…Your Heart Rate is…

You need to take…You need to take…

You’ve run…You’ve run…

It connects simple devices to the web

Making mHealth devices a realistic consumer proposition

www.patientslikeme.comwww.patientslikeme.com

mHealth devices ship with a web address…

Pedometer

They connect to a generic app on your phone…

Internet

which connects them to the web app…

then automatically send your health data…

My pulse is…My pulse is…

My temperature is…My temperature is…

My blood glucose is…My blood glucose is…

We can even redesign everyday objects…

…and monitor health unobtrusively

mHealth truths #1

it will cost more

mHealth truths #1

The only way to cut health costs significantly is to cut health staff.

Otherwise it’s like building more roads.

In the short to medium term, mHealth is a personal, additional, discretionary spend.

mHealth truths #2

doctors don’t want it

mHealth truths #2

To get a toehold, mHealth will need to be disruptive.

Successful business models probably need to avoid medics and insurers.

They’ve spent over 200 years building up their professional status.

They’re not going to give it away easily.

mHealth truths #3

patients don’t want it

mHealth truths #3

If you think they do, why is this funny?

Most patients don’t want to be involved, especially at the lower levels of chronic disease. They want to be fixed.

mHealth isn’t about curing disease

that’s too hard.

it’s about what people will pay for.

Maintaining quality of life,

Enhancing self image,

Assuaging guilt.

it’s all about compelling services.

and if you want to make money,

so let’s look at some business models…

The Wisdom of (sick) Crowds

Engage with those patients that DO care,Use their experience to build compelling feedback,Consider how to make it Open Source.

The Guilty

Look at current models that work (Weightwatchers, etc.).Target the worried well.Work out how to use loyalty for ongoing service revenue.

The Gullible

Alternative healthcare has less regulation.Fast development and deployment cycles.Could become the pornography of mhealth.

The Drug Dealers

Our average lifetime pill consumption is 54,000 pills. Kick the doctors out of the loop.Monitor and dispense generics directly to the patient.

Barriers

The medical profession

Regulation

But mostly…

Your imagination

if mHealth is going to work…

we need to stop thinking like doctors,

and start thinking like patients.

keep on looking…

there’s a business model somewhere…

nick@wifore.comblog: www.nickhunn.com