12 Gifts of Digital Health
A Look Back at How Mobile, Big Data,
Genomics and Other Digital Health
Technologies Helped Patients, Doctors,
Caregivers and All of Us in 2014
Developed By Fard Johnmar
Digital Health Futurist,
Bestselling Author, ePatient 2015,
Founder & President of Enspektos

When People Consider
How Digital Technologies
Will Influence Health, They
Often Assume That Most
Significant Changes Will Take
Place Over Years or Decades

But, Digital Technologies Are Influencing
Health and Medicine in Profound and
Often Non-Obvious Ways, Today

Let’s Take a Look Back at 12 Gifts
Digital Health Technologies Gave Us
During the Year That Was

These 12 Digital Health
Gifts Are Organized
into 6 Categories
The Gift of Life The Gift of Knowledge The Gift of Connection
The Gift of Hope The Gift of Movement The Gift of Time

The Gift of Time
Reducing Time to Diagnosis and
Speeding Patients’ Access to
Vital Health Information

Some of the Digital Health
Technologies Powering the Gift of Time
Big Data
Genomics
Social Media
Big (or large) data sets are being collected and
analyzed to provide important information about the
biology of disease, medical research and more.
Researchers have made advances in using DNA and
other genetic information to quickly identify viruses
and bacteria that contribute to disease.
Social media contains a wealth of information about
medical research, newly approved drugs and more
that can be mined to provide personalized and
relevant health information to patients.

Digital
Health
Gift #1
Diagnosing Disease Cheaper and Faster
Using a Single Drop of Blood
Theranos is a digitally-powered lab testing company.
It uses a combination of Big Data, genetic information and
computational power to deliver accurate, speedy diagnoses
at lower cost than traditional testing methods

Digital
Health
Gift #2
Helping Patients With Serious Medical
Conditions Access Accurate Online
Health Information Quickly
Medivizor’s technology allows patients to receive
personalized, relevant and actionable online
health information without relying on
search engines like Google.

The Gift of
Movement
Helping the Paralyzed
Walk and Amputees
Experience Touch Again

Technologies Powering the Gift of Movement
Big Data
Sensors
Some of the Digital Health
Big data sets are collected from individuals and
groups to help provide baseline information on
individual or group physical performance.
Sensors embedded into devices provide a feedback loop
of data that helps computer-powered machines
understand where they are in physical space and more.

Digital
Health
Gift #3
Using Exoskeletons to Walk Again
Ekso has developed a series of computer and sensor-aided
bionic exoskeletons, which are approved by health authorities
around the world (including the FDA) for people with paralysis.

Digital
Health
Gift #4
Amputees Can Touch Objects and Others
Prosthetic limbs packed with sensors and connected
to the human nervous system allow amputees to
touch objects and engage in complex tasks such as
picking up fruits and grasping other people.

The Gift of Connection
Treating Mental Illness,
Improving Access to Physicians

Secure and private video teleconferencing allows for
digital communication between patients and
medical professionals.
SMS, push notifications and other mobile technologies
enable patients to communicate with clinicians about
sensitive issues in real time.
Telemedicine
Mobile
Some of the Digital Health
Technologies Powering the Gift of Connection

Digital
Health
Gift #5
Mobile-Powered Therapy Service Helps
People Get Help They Need Remotely
Talkspace has developed a mobile therapy
solution that is helping more than 70,000 people
receive help for depression, anxiety and other
mental illnesses remotely and on-demand.

Digital
Health
Gift #6
Telemedicine (Video Consults With
Doctors) is Helping Reduce
Wait Times and Improve Care
Although questions remain about whether telemedicine
will lead to widespread improvements in care and reductions
in wait times in the National Health Service, evidence is
mounting that it can help certain types of patients and
even save lives (such as in stroke).

The Gift of Knowledge
Improving Physicians’ Understanding and
Preventing Medical Errors

Some of the Digital Health
Technologies Powering the Gift of Knowledge
Big Data
Genomics
Big (or large) data sets are being collected and
analyzed to provide important information about the
biology of disease, medical research and other topics.
Researchers have learned that genetic differences
between patients can influence how well medications
work, their side effects and much more.
Powered by Big Data and powerful analytics, super
computers are developing the ability to learn and
react based on experience. Artificial Intelligence

Digital
Health
Gift #7
Providing Patients’ Genetic Data When
Drugs Are Being Prescribed May
Prevent Harmful Side Effects
Medical professionals need data they can use to shape care — in
real time. ActX has introduced a service that combines patients’
genetic data with information in electronic medical records to
shape and improve drug therapy and overall care
before and after drugs are prescribed.

Digital
Health
Gift #8
Big Data and Machine Learning Are
Being Used to Help Doctors Make Better
and More Accurate Decisions
Watson provided treatment
recommendations for cancer
patients that were 83% accurate.
IBM has partnered with a range of medical institutions to
train its artificial intelligence system Watson to help
doctors make better clinical and diagnostic decisions in
cancer care and beyond.

The Gift of Hope
Boosting Patients’ Odds of
Surviving Life-Threatening Illnesses

Technologies Powering the Gift of Hope
Big Data
Genomics
Some of the Digital Health
Big (or large) data sets are being collected and
analyzed to help identify the genetic causes of diseases
like cancer. Important cancer data is now being stored
in the cloud to improve access to this information.
Some cancer cells have unique genetic mutations that
make them more, or less, responsive to certain
medications.

Digital
Health
Gift #9
Genetic Testing of Cancer is Leading to
New Treatments (and Hope) for Patients
Approved in 2014, Zykadia is one of two FDA-sanctioned lung
cancer medications that are specifically designed to treat
patients with a certain type of genetic mutation (ALK).
Researchers are currently testing a range of cancers to
determine if they share the ALK mutation.

Digital
Health
Gift
#10
Big Cancer Genetic Data in the Cloud
Could Lead to New Breakthroughs
from Unexpected Places
One of the barriers to faster research in cancer genomics is
lack of access to computing power — especially in smaller
institutions. Google and cancer researchers have teamed up
to create a cloud data source that could speed the
development of new genetic therapies for cancer.

The Gift of Life
Preventing Life-Threatening
Conditions and Fighting Epidemics

Sensors can be used to detect changes in people’s
bodies that may indicate they will soon have a
heart attack, stroke, depression or another
medical condition.
Large data sets featuring important diagnostic
information can be analyzed and mined for certain
patterns suggesting that people may have a life-threatening
medical issue.
Sensors
Big Data
Mobile devices (combined with sensor technologies)
can be used to monitor patients remotely, enable
communication with medical professionals and more.
Mobile
Some of the Digital Health
Technologies Powering the Gift of Life

Digital
Health
Gift
#11
Big Data Plus Mobile Health Devices Could
Help Prevent Heart Attacks and Strokes
AliveCor started out focusing on measuring users’ heart rates
via its mobile device. Now, it has received FDA approval to
leverage its vast store of ECG data to power an
algorithm that could help prevent strokes.

Digital
Health
Gift
#12
Mobile Health Tools and Big Data Are Being
Used to Monitor People Infected With Ebola
and Detect the Virus’ Spread
Remote Patient Monitoring using mobile devices and Big Data
analytics (mining news reports, social media and other
channels) is helping to save lives by limiting the spread of
Ebola and tracking its spread around the world.

Remember:
The Digital Health
Future is Already Here

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