Verizon As A Healthcare Company? – Converged Health Management

You know that something has become mainstream when the large Fortune 500 companies (not already in healthcare) begin to jump into the space.  So while some people in healthcare are still trying to figure out what to do about remote monitoring, Verizon has jumped into the pool with their Converged Health Management solution. 

Now, don’t forget, people have been forecasting huge growth in this space while at the same time some of the start-ups in this space haven’t taken off as fast as expected.

• Remote monitoring to be almost $300M by 2019
• Remote monitoring to be $22B by 2015 (maybe too optimistic)
• Healthrageous bought by Humana (and commentary after the fact by the Healthrageous CEO)

I was hoping to talk with Verizon about this new effort, but they declined.  Since I had already prepared to interview them, I’m sharing my thoughts here.

What is Verizon doing in healthcare?

Verizon appears to be doing several things in healthcare.  While a lot of it is critical but less exciting back-office technology, they are starting to move into more of a consumer strategy (I think).

• Networking
• Cloud connectivity
• Mobile
• Security

What is Converged Health Management?

Converged Health Management is a “remote patient-monitoring medical platform designed to help clinicians and patients manage patients’ health in between doctor visits.”  This sounds really intriguing.  I was hoping to find out more about the device, the apps, the data, the platform, and how this is being integrated into the provider workflow.  But, for now, I’ll have to live with this video.

Why is this important?

This is important because about 50% of consumers have a chronic disease, and there’s no cost effective way to manage and monitor these consumers without using technology.  Remote monitoring of patients to provide a “bridge” between physician visits and nurse consultations is critical.  But, there are several key issues to be addressed:

• How does the device get “prescribed” to the patient?
• How does the patient learn to use the device?
• How easy is it to set up the device?
• What is the cost of the device?
• What data is captured by the device?
• How is this data transmitted and to whom?
• How is the data used by the patient?
• How is the data used by the clinician?
• How does the solution change patient behavior?
• What rules are written to monitor the data to create escalations to the physician, their care manager, or their caregivers?
• How are outcomes demonstrated?
• What is the ROI?

What I learned from the Press Release…And More Questions

I was able to learn some things from the latest press release on this solution, but it also drove lots of questions:

• “The Converged Health Management solution enables patients to use biometric devices to take health information such as blood pressure, oxygen saturation levels, glucose levels and weight from home or on the go.” [Who provides the devices?  Are these additional costs?  How are they coordinated?]
• “Patient data is then automatically transmitted through a wireless connection to a secure server that resides in Verizon’s HIPAA-ready cloud for analysis and intervention by the patient’s clinician, including a reward system that incents patients to make healthier lifestyle choices.” [Does the MD have to log-in to a portal?  Can the data be pushed to their EMR?  What is the reward system?  Who’s running that?  Are the rewards financial?]
• “Patients can access this information and find personalized health-enhancing suggestions via the Converged Health Management smartphone app or Web portal.  [Is this free?  Can I use it or does my plan / employer have to sign up for it?  Who provides technology and member support for this?  How many people are using it?  What’s their response been?]
• “As part of their health program, patients can take advantage of related health information, including videos and webinars.”  [Who provides the health information?  Is it URAC or NCQA accredited?  How does this integrate with the information from their health plan?  Does the nurse and physician have access to see the same information?  Can they see what information the consumer has accessed?]
• “In addition, patients can connect anonymously with other patients in a secure “social networking” environment, where they can ask questions, and share ideas and experiences.”  [Is this like PatientsLikeMe?  Is the data sold to pharma?  Is the environment monitored?  Does Verizon provide experts to share opinions here?]