mHealth Summit 2014: The Opportunity to Connect EMS & Healthcare

Source: The Future of Medical Transport, LinkedIn Group

At the 2014 mHealth Summit, held December 7–11 in Washington, D.C., the conversation on the integration of prehospital care into the larger healthcare system was practically non-existent.

The absence of this conversation in the mobile health space, and its limited engagement in the EMS sphere, reflects a fundamental disconnect between EMS and the larger healthcare industry. It is two-sided disconnect, and it’s an opportunity.

Reimagining Healthcare & EMS

Capitalizing on this opportunity requires smarter, better technology systems, but first, it demands that we completely reimagine healthcare, including the role of EMS within the larger system.

I have written more indepth on the pressing need for—and the possibilities of—reimagining the ambulance service industry’s role in a connected healthcare system in a recent whitepaper. The gist of it is that the ambulance industry, like the healthcare industry, must move toward becoming more consumer-driven, mobile-savvy and value-focused.

Healthcare Consumers On Center Stage

Healthcare consumerism was a major focus of the conversations this week at the mhealth Summit.

Janet Schijns, Vice President of Global Verticals and Channel Marketing, Verizon Enterprise Solutions, was outspoken in rejecting the word, “patient,” in favor of using “people” or “consumers.” She pointed out that, “Today, people are telling companies how to create the products they want.” Increasingly, this expectation will extend to healthcare and the EMS space.

Harry Reynolds, Director of Health Industry Transformation for IBM Global Healthcare and Life Science Industry, pointed out that people expect the healthcare system to “Engage them on their own terms,” often that means digitally or on a mobile device.

Joe Kvedar, Director, Center for Connected Health, Partners Healthcare argued that mobile health tools will see widespread consumer adoption when they are, “frictionless, social, personalized, and have everyday relevance.”

Harry Leider, Chief Medical Officer and Group Vice President, Walgreens outlined the major value propositions of mobile health tools as:

• Helping people improve wellness & fitness,
• Lowering cost and/or upping convenience,
• Offering acute condition solutions, and
• Helping people manage chronic illness & aging.

Relevance for EMS

Why should the EMS industry being paying attention to this conversation? EMTs and paramedics have skills sets that are uniquely suited to meet many of the most critical consumer demands of healthcare, which are increasingly shaped by the epidemic of chronic illness, the needs of an aging populations, the high cost of healthcare and the ubiquity of mobile devices.

One of the important and often under-recognized value-adds of the ambulance service team is its ability to provide basic community healthcare. More and more community paramedicine programs are being launched for this purpose. In some healthcare circles, EMS professionals are being deployed to care for chronically ill patients, who often demand a bulk of the healthcare system’s resources.Yet, this remains an enormous opportunity for growth and for reinvention of the EMS team, particularly if new technology platforms can better connect EMS to other healthcare teams and systems.

Meeting the Needs of the Aging & Chronically Ill

One of the most interesting panels I attended was titled, “Untapped Markets in mHealth,” which included remarks from Jody Holtzman, Senior Vice President, Thought Leadership at the AARP.

Holtzman pointed the audience to an AARP publication, “Health Innovation Frontiers: Untapped Market Opportunities for the 50+.” He emphasized that more than 30% of the US population is currently age 50 or older and their numbers are growing but their needs are unmet.

The AARP publication highlights nine specific, unmet needs in healthcare for the 50+ group. Number four on the list is care navigation.

The publication discusses consumers’ needs for services that guide them through, “some of the decisions needed for a care episode, such as understanding symptoms they are experiencing, deciding when and if to see a doctor, and choosing the right doctor to address the condition. Currently, few doctors practice concierge care and most high‐end concierge services …[are] less affordable to ordinary families. The market for online concierge services is growing, but must overcome consumers’ desire to meet their concierge doctor face‐to‐face.”

In this paper, the AARP goes on to suggest one solution to the problem is “a digital medical care planner app that offers interactive, step‐by‐step instructions to find resources for patients’ needs.”

Holtzman’s emphasis on the need for better care navigation reminded me of a comment, Ed Racht, MD, Chief Medical Officer, American Medical Response, made in an interview. Racht said, “I think what’s changing is that EMS systems are being recognized as just as valuable for the non-acute, unplanned care as they are on the acute, unplanned care in terms of navigation.”

EMS Is An Important Part of the Solution

Holtzman and the AARP didn’t appear to have paramedicine on the radar when they outlined the need for better care navigation, but they should. Reimagining and recreating a better, smarter, more consumer-focused healthcare system starts with thinking outside the box about the system’s existing resources, including EMS professionals.

New technology tools will be an important part of creating this integrated healthcare system, but it shouldn’t start with technology. It has to start with understanding what people are asking of the healthcare system today and a reexamination of how we can mobilize health professionals in new ways, in new teams, with new tools to better meet consumers where they are.

Susanna J. Smith is a freelancer writer focused on the future of healthcare and how new technologies are reshaping the healthcare industry. She is the content manager and a contributing blogger at Medlert Inc, a San Francisco-based software company that is developing mobile, cloud-based solutions for the healthcare ecosystem, including the EMS industry. Susanna holds a Masters in Public Health from Columbia University and has worked as a writer, editor, and researcher for more ten years. You can follow her work at @SusannaJSmith, @Medlert.