An article about machine-to-machine devices and big data analytics at InformationWeek touches briefly on health monitoring--but makes the point. By monitoring patients at home and in daily life, we will learn to recognize early warning signs:

Healthcare is another area where M2M has the potential to transform an industry. Machine-to-machine devices, including blood pressure monitors, glucose meters, and electronic weight scales, have integrated sensors that check patients' conditions in the home, thereby saving a trip to the doctor's office or hospital.

An M2M monitor can also alert a physician when it detects a potential health problem. "Rather than waiting for a person to end up in the emergency room or hospital, which gets very expensive, the physician can be notified when the patient is in a negative state, and proactively schedule a visit," said Lottero.

This idea seems to be catching on in auto insurance. Companies such as Progressive Insurance believe they can better assess risk through routine monitoring.

One drawback to smartphone-based remote patient monitoring is that it typically requires the patient to initiate and complete a series of tasks. Wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) technology offers what MedApps calls the “hands off” approach. Data collection and transmission are performed automatically in the background.

VRI, a company started twenty years ago in the medical alert business, is teaming up with MedApps, a provider of M2M-based remote health monitoring solutions, to enhance and extend its home monitoring of patients with chronic diseases. VRI boasts 60,000 patients across the country.


MedApps, among other things, adds communications to low-cost retail health monitors. For example, the firm’s HealthAIR adds Bluetooth connectivity to any retail health monitor with a USB port. Its HealthPAL will even transmit readings to the patient’s caregiver and/or personal health record (such as Microsoft HealthVault).

Yes, the same tasks could be performed using smartphones. But that could require that each patient sign up for an expensive voice plus data service plan. MedApps’ approach creates a bridge between existing products and remote monitoring. That’s attractive to wireless operators because the bandwidth consumed by dedicated health monitoring devices is limited and predictable. It’s good for patients because they don’t have to do anything. And it’s good for caregivers because they don’t have to teach patients how to be power users.

Doctors used to come to your home when you or a family member became ill. That practice all but disappeared over the course of the last century. While there are still some doctors who differentiate themselves by traveling to the patient, advanced technology is giving new meaning to the term “house calls.”

Telemedicine was originally conceived as a way for patients in rural and remote areas to consult with specialists in urban areas. However, the applications for telemedicine have evolved since then. Two are of particular interest to individuals: (1) in-home monitoring of elderly and chronically ill patients and (2) telephone- and Web-based consultation.

In-home monitoring helps the patient live independently and gives their family the comfort of knowing that medical assistance is never far away. For example, Verizon and Healthsense recently announced plans to provide “wellness and health monitoring services” to seniors in assisted-living communities. The services are delivered over Verizon’s fiber optic network to Healthsense’s in-building Wi-Fi wireless networks. Healthsense provides around-the-clock vital signs monitoring, emergency signaling, and medication prompting.

Other companies offering in-home monitoring include Honeywell HomMed and Lifestyle Health Systems. HomMed works closely with caregivers and claims to serve more than 500,000 patients. The firm’s Genesis DM remote patient care monitor supports peripherals including a digital scale for measuring weight, an oximeter for checking blood oxygen saturation, glucose meters for checking blood glucose, INR meters for measuring blood coagulation time, and an arm cuff for checking blood pressure. HomMed says the system reduces healthcare costs by avoiding or shortening hospital stays. Lifestyle Health Systems provides remote care monitoring via wireless sensors. The GrandCare system monitors motion and daily activities without resorting to surveillance cameras. It also enables caregivers and family members to “send pictures, messages, calendar appointments, medication reminders” to a remote patient care monitor with optional interactive touchscreen.

Another group of companies offers access to physicians via telephone, email, and Web-based videoconference. They mainly target individuals and families with frequent non-emergency needs—for example, mothers with small children. AmeriDoc offers information, diagnosis, and prescriptions (with restrictions) to monthly subscribers. In addition to individuals and families, the company targets students and travelers. Teladoc provides similar services to plan members who are asked to set up electronic health records when they enroll. American Well “extends traditional healthcare services to the home setting” via Web conferencing, telephone, and secure chat. Notes from consultations are used to create an electronic health record (“My History”) and are forwarded to the member’s primary care physician.

You can probably see where this is leading. It’s no fun dragging yourself to a doctor’s office when you are sick. Nor is it wise for you to sit in a waiting room filled with people sneezing and coughing when all you have is a sore back. Eventually, most physicians will offer Web-based videoconferencing as an alternative to office visits for certain patients and conditions.

And I predict it will take off once someone produces an affordable and easy-to-use digital stethoscope with USB connectivity.

UPDATE: June 4, 2011

You knew there had to be a smartphone angle. Startup Cellscope is working to transform the mobile phone camera into a diagnostic-grade microscope. The company says the technology is well suited to applications such as home-based diagnosis of pediatric ear infections.