Patient perceptions of long term illness are changing. Where previously the diagnosis of a chronic condition might have been met with a certain resignation, patients have become more proactive and expectant of how their condition will be managed and their wellness maintained. Government perceptions of healthcare are changing also. There is a growing recognition that the burgeoning cost of providing quality care is likely to bankrupt nations if not controlled. For example, US healthcare spending is currently 17% of GDP and rising, with some 90% of spend on chronic illness.

One promising solution to both these aspects is, variously, known as Connected Health, telemedicine or e-health. In brief, CH involves the deployment of sensor and communication technologies to the individual, the home and other locations in order to earlier detect risk, onset or worsening of disease and thereby reduce the severity of that disease and reduce the burden of acute care in the hospital.  Currently, CH solutions are being rolled out for those chronic conditions with the largest catchment of patients and the highest burden of cost such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.

At a recent conference in Belfast I attended, The European Connected Health Leadership Summit 2010, it was clear that Ireland has a strong presence in Connected Health. Irish firms span the whole gamut of Connected Health from companies like Shimmer developing sensor platforms, to Biancamed providing CH devices, to McElwaine Stewart delivering CH solutions to the community. A fuller overview of the all-island activities in this area can be found here. Furthermore, profiles of EI clients operating in the space can be seen here on the Best Connected site.

On listening to the presentations in Belfast, it struck me that locally and internationally, CH companies face similar barriers to adoption of their products and services. These include:

• Promising pilot studies that die after funding dries up
• Clinician conservatism
• Providing convincing evidence of return on investment
• Wrong kind of or no incentivisation for purchasers
• Procurement difficulties with new technologies
• Lack of standards/interoperability

In a later post, I’ll outline some of the emerging thought on how best to overcome these barriers. I’ll also cover the supports available to CH companies to innovate new products.

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