DIGITAL HEALTH BRIEFING: CES 2018 healthtech roundup - AI digital assistant can help emergency dispatchers - UnitedHealthcare adds new digital features

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2018 CES HEALTHTECH ROUNDUP: The latest advances in health technology were on full display at last week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. At this year's show, we saw two themes: digital health innovation is no longer limited to fitness trackers and smartwatches, and the newest devices being offered are geared towards consumers taking health monitoring into their own hands. Here is a look at key healthtech products that were on display and could enable consumers to play a more active role in their own health.

New consumer devices:

• Cardiomo, the digital healthcare heart monitor company, demonstrated its wearable vital monitor. The wireless monitor, which is attached to a user's chest via adhesive patches, continually collects vital data to spot potential heart abnormalities, according to MobiHealthNews.
• Lenovo, the electronics manufacturer, introduced its Vital Motorola Moto Mod, a health accessory that is attached to the back of select Motorola phones to track key vital signs, according to CNET. The Vital Moto Mod includes a proprietary finger cuff that allows users to measure their heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, blood oxygen levels, and blood pressure.
• Oska Wellness, a consumer health technology company, announced a new mobile app that is capable of controlling the company's Oska Pulse Active electromagnetic field device. The device can be used to reduce muscle stiffness, relieve minor pain, and increase mobility for people who suffer chronic pain, as well as allow them to track and manage their pain via the app.

Precision care:

• Exploragen, a DNA lifestyle company, is partnering with sleep technology company SleepScore, to launch its SlumberType DNA app. The app allows users to turn their genetic information into personalized insights to optimize sleep.
• DnaNudge, the UK-based startup, is aiming to offer consumers in-store DNA tests at supermarkets, in order to help people find healthy foods tailored to their needs, according to the BBC. After getting results from a rapid, in-store cheek swab genetic test, consumers can use a smartphone app or proprietary wearable device to scan food at their supermarket to see what is best for them to eat, according to their genetic makeup.

AI DIGITAL ASSISTANT CAN HELP EMERGENCY DISPATCHERS: A Copenhagen-based digital assistant, called Corti, is helping Danish emergency dispatchers determine whether a patient is going through cardiac arrest, according to Fast Company. Corti, which is also the name of the company that developed the AI, runs in the background of emergency dispatch calls and uses speech recognition software and machine learning (ML) to pick up background cues, such as breathing patterns, that allow it to determine whether a person is suffering from cardiac arrest. An early small-scale study found that the AI can diagnose cardiac arrests with 95% accuracy. That's compared to the average 73% accuracy of human dispatchers in Copenhagen. A larger study is planned. Corti demonstrates the potential of AI systems that can augment emergency services and triage - the faster and more accurately dispatchers can determine the nature of an injury, the better the outcome. For example, outside of the hospital, the chance of survival for someone in cardiac arrest decreases roughly 10% each minute. Given an early and accurate diagnosis from a digital assistant, the dispatcher might be able to coach people nearby through CPR, or even send out medical drones with defibrillators to the location, which could arrive ahead of ambulances. Corti is reportedly preparing to announce plans to expand into the US.

UNITEDHEALTHCARE INTRODUCES SEVERAL DIGITAL HEALTH OPTIONS: UnitedHealthcare has unveiled several new digital health tools at the CES for members of its employer-sponsored plans, according to FierceHealthcare. The insurance firm is enabling users of its Optum Bank health savings accounts to use Apple Pay, Apple's mobile wallet, when paying for specific medical services. This could become a popular payment option as it appears that consumers are starting to prefer digital payment options - for example, 95% of consumers would pay online if a provider's website had the option, according to a Black Book Research survey. UnitedHealthcare is also adding personalized videos that break down patients' claims, informing them how much they still owe. This could help to build customer satisfaction, as medical billing is a major pain point for patients. Nearly a third of patients say that confusion over how much insurance will cover versus patient responsibility contributes to payment delays, according to a West study cited by Televox.

HACKER ACCESSES BILLING RECORDS OF 280,000 OKLAHOMA STATE PATIENTS: In November last year, a hacker reportedly broke into the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences (OSUCHS) network gaining access to the Medicaid billing information of almost 280,000 patients, according to Healthcare IT News. OSUCHS began notifying customers January 5 and has since updated its security features. Cybersecurity is an ongoing concern for the healthcare industry. Four in five US doctors have experienced a cyberattack of some sort, according to a study by Accenture and the American Medical Association. Despite this, a majority of US healthcare businesses lack a cybersecurity leader. Just 15% of organizations have a designated C-suite leader to manage enterprise-wide data security efforts, according to a recent Black Book Research study. As more of the medical industry goes online, the impact data hacking and internal errors will have on patient records and hospital operations will continue to grow. It's becoming more important than ever that healthcare organizations and systems shore up against these threats.

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In other news…

• Royal Philips, the healthtech arm of global electronics company Philips, is launching its new mobile patient monitoring solution, the IntelliVue X3, that aims to make it easier for hospital staff to access patient information and data while in transit between departments, according to HIT Consultant. Because different hospital departments often run their patient data systems independently from one another, clinicians' view of their patient's condition can be limited as they travel. Enterprise-wide solutions such as the Intellivue X3 can help to provide a continuous flow of patient information for hospital staff, supporting more accurate, and up-to-date patient data.
• Wearables and remote patient monitoring may have a limited positive impact on clinical outcomes, according (PDF) to a newly released meta-study of 27 global control studies from 2000 to 2016. The results could dampen recent hype over the potential of wearables like Fitbits and Apple Watches to improve patient care and rehabilitation.