Bridging the Fitness Apps and Device Trackers with the Medical Community
Next week I’m going to the International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas. Obviously, being a consumer show, the health applications are very much consumer focused. They have a whole section of the show dedicated to digital health and it’s been growing each year (up 60% this year I’m told).
I’m on the press list and I’ve been really interested in the wave of fitness devices that have passed through my inbox. They come in all shapes and sizes and record everything from steps to heart rate to blood pressure to every in between. Basically, I see a whole plethora of applications and devices that are measuring various aspects of our health. The wave is here. Who’s going to win this race isn’t all that clear to me, but the fact that we’re going to have devices measuring our health is clear.
What’s also not clear is how these measurements are going to bridge over to the medical community. Sure, there are targeted pilot programs where some of these devices are used by doctors or hospitals. However, most of these consumer monitoring and device companies aren’t thinking about the medical implications. In fact, many of them are staying far away from it as they avoid any sort of FDA oversight.
While I understand the desire to not have to make the bridge to the medical community, I don’t think most of these devices and apps will make it without making the bridge. If I’ve already recorded all of my blood pressure data on my iPad using a blood pressure cuff at home, I’m going to want an easy way that I can provide that data to my doctor.
Maybe this is an opportunity for an innovative company to provide that bridge. I’m sure most of these mobile health developers would be happy to tap into a public “utility” that would connect their data to the medical community. The problem is that it’s not sexy to be a utility.
