Digital Health as the New Business Model As the global demand to create better health outcomes rises, digital healthcare as a business opportunity is ripe for the picking. Annika Hey Design Principal Atanas Atanasov Software Development Manager – Agile Frameworks Björn Stansvik Founder & Chief Executive Officer Daniela Nazim MentorMate Alumni Dimitar Dobrev MentorMate Alumni Craig Knighton Chief Operating Officer Eleonora Georgieva Global VP, Delivery George Dormishev System Administration Manager Ivaylo Kostadinov Director, Software Engineering - .NET Jamie Bolseth MentorMate Alumni Jay Miller President Jeni Kyuchukova Director, Quality Engineering Jessica Anderson VP of Finance and Administration Liz Spolyar Global Director, Continuation Engineering Nick Curran Technical Architect Nikolay Lyubchev Global Director, Talent Acquisition, MentorMate Stefan Tsvyatkov Director, Software Engineering - Mobile Stefan Tzanev Chief Financial Officer Vesselin Dobrev General Manager (Bulgaria) Sylvia Vassileva Software Development Manager - Spok Filip Gajtanovski Software Development Manager - Storyworks Krasimir K. Nikolov VP of Technology Katherine Kelly Director of Operations (USA) Carrie Siewert Strategic Account Manager Brady Swanson Global Director, Marketing Eve Poeschl MentorMate Alumni Ryan Peña MentorMate Alumni Vassil Vassilev Software Development Manager - .NET Pavel Petrov Director, Software Engineering - LAMP&FE Ivan Peev Senior Technology Manager Bob Reuss MentorMate Alumni Vera Kasapova QA Manager Greta Yamacheva QA Manager Robert Samuelsson General Manager (Sweden) Kyle Simmons Solutions Architect Robin Thomas Solutions Architect Nataliya Naydenova MentorMate Alumni Adam Malone Alexander Dimitrov Enterprise Architect Andrea Kates CEO, LaunchPad Central Andrew Eklund CEO, Ciceron Andrew Marinov Angel Nikolov MentorMate Alumni Anurag Shukla Aron Wolde MentorMate Alumni Ashley Goodridge Office Assistant Benjamin Gramlich MentorMate Alumni Chris Black MentorMate Alumni Christa Haeg MentorMate Alumni Colin Lee MentorMate Alumni Deyan Stoynov MentorMate Alumni Dimitar Danailov MentorMate Alumni Dobrinka Tabakova Doug Leatherman Emily Genco MentorMate Alumni Fanka Vassileva Gabriela Zagarova MentorMate Alumni Gary Conkright CEO, physIQ Gary Fingerhut Executive Director, Cleveland Clinic Innovations Gavin Finden MentorMate Alumni Georgi Graham Klang Hyusein Hyuseinov Senior Automation QA Ian Good Global VP, Operations Iva Jack Cosentino James Williams John Byrne Kaloyan Stoilkov MentorMate Alumni Kosta Hristov Krasimir Gatev Senior Android Developer Lazar Petrakiev Lyubomir Dobrev Senior .NET Developer Lubomir Velkov Marin Yotovski Mark Smith MentorMate Alumni Martin Dimitrov MentorMate Alumni Martin Kalyonski Mike Hagan MentorMate Alumni Nikolay Andonov Nikolay Arhangelov Riley Panko Guest Contributor Roger Ferguson MentorMate Alumni Ryan Sysko Chairman, WellDoc Ryan Blake MentorMate Alumnus Sarah Rockholt MentorMate Alumni Sean McDevitt CEO, Sensei Siyana Slavova Stanislas Walden MentorMate Alumni Stanislav Atanasov Stanislava Bogdanova MentorMate Alumni Stefanie Trimble MentorMate Alumnus Stephen Fluin Stoyan Stoyanov MentorMate Alumnus Tessa Cacek Staffing Manager Tom Clemens MentorMate Alumnus V8 JavaScript Engine Viktor Mitev Yolanda Petkova Marketing Design Lead Pete Anderson Lead Product Owner, Target Vasil Nonchev Java Software Development Manager Dilyana Totseva QA Manager Stanimir Nikolov Software Development Lead - iOS, MentorMate Rosen Kolev Technology Principal Dimitar Mihaylov MentorMate Alumni Nikola Genov Software Architect - .NET Neli Todorova Software Development Manager - LAMP Yavor Dimitrov MentorMate Alumni Georgi Karanedyalkov Software Development Lead - Android, MentorMate Denislav Ganchev Technology Principal Stefan Shopov QA Manager Konstantin Rusev Java Developer Borislav Dimitrov Senior Android Developer, MentorMate Tsvetelina Lazarova MentorMate Alumni Dimitar Gadzhev Developer Plamen Stoev Software Development Manager - Front-end Jake Nelsen Senior Experience Designer Zlati Pehlivanov Senior Software Engineer II Kate Tolmie Senior Experience Designer Martin Angelov Director, Software Engineering - LAMP&FE, MentorMate Dimitar Zhelev Senior .NET Developer Joel Swenson Content Manager Kiril Ivanov Quality Assurance Analyst Viktor Hristoskov Software Development Lead - iOS, MentorMate Violeta Nikolcheva Database Developer Biliana Kadakevlieva Senior Quality Assurance Analyst Chris McLeod Senior Solutions Consultant Antonii Georgiev Junior .NET Developer Alexander Rusev Front-End Developer Matt Erickson MentorMate Alumni Brian Buchkosky Global Director, PMO David Tran MentorMate Alumni Kristin Krueger MentorMate Alumni Magdalena Chervenkova Business Analyst Denny Royal Chief Design Officer Joe Bodell MentorMate Alumni Viktoria Chuchumisheva HR Manager Kalina Tekelieva Senior Content Marketing Artist Daniel Rankov MentorMate Alumni Alexander Alexandrov BA Lead MentorMate Clint Rowles VP, Business Development Nikola Donev SysOps & DevOps Lead Tseko Tsolov Frontend Developer Denislav Lefterov Automation QA Analyst Dilyana Kodjamanova MentorMate Alumni Emma Jorstad Project Manager, Lead Georgi Georgiev Software Development Lead - LAMP, MentorMate Martin Panayotov Senior iOS Developer, MentorMate John Blake Senior Account Manager Tyler Compton Solutions Architect Nikola Peevski Software Developer — Lamp & Front-End Aaron Whitney Director of Client Strategy Veliko Ivanov Senior Cloud Engineer Suzanne O’Brien Senior Project Manager Svetlin Stanchev Software Development Lead - Front-end, MentorMate Todor Todorov Senior Cloud Engineer Kate Stamatova Senior QA Analyst Frank Anselmo Global Director, Project Management Gyuner Zeki Solutions Architect Galin Stanchev QA Analyst Sarah Hoops Business Development Manager Brenden Diehl Business Development Manager Anna Krivova Software Development Lead - Front-end, MentorMate Ivelina Kavalova Senior Business Analyst, MentorMate Paul Sanders MentorMate Alumni Jim Cikanek Senior Client Strategist Samuil Yanovski Software Development Manager - Android, MentorMate Krasimir Gatev Senior Android Developer, MentorMate Kristina Goryalova Talent Acquisition Manager Elena Petrova HR Specialist Jay Matre Senior Business Architect, MentorMate Lilyana Dimitrova QA Specialist Josh Marquart Chief Strategy Officer Mario Gorki Senior Mobile Developer Simeon Zhekov Cloud Engineer Hristo Stoyanov Cloud & DevOps Lead Ben Wallace Enterprise Architect Boyan Stoyanov Data & Dota Specialist Petya Ivanova Director, Software Engineering - Java Sebastian Ortiz-Chamorro VP of Engineering, Latin America Consuelo Merino Director of Operations The healthcare industry is changing at a rapid pace. Today, patients have more access to medical information and technology than ever before. As the global demand to create better health outcomes rises, the healthcare business is embracing new advances in technology to meet those demands. The healthcare delivery system is now focusing more on patients and community care settings instead of focusing on hospitals and providers. Global healthcare systems are being re-engineered by leveraging mobile and cloud technology. This new trend helps healthcare providers get better access to patient data, which further helps them to improve the overall healthcare services. Why Digital Health? The question that now arises is: Why should we consider digital health? The practice of interventional medicine was first popularized during the 1960s. Artificial parts including limbs, kidneys, lungs and drove advancements in medicine. Physicians and medical engineers extensively used these implants to improve both the quality of life and the longevity of a patient. Major technological advancements over the past few years have made a prevention-based model in healthcare a reality. Digital capacities, backed by enhanced software, now allow healthcare providers to monitor patients closely, even from remote locations, using sensors to track movement, heart rhythm, or irregularities in the body. Digital medicine not only enhances interactive experiences between patients and healthcare providers but also helps to prevent many diseases before they occur, and allow for immediate action during emergency situations. The use of wearable technology is further helping patients gather medical data for self-monitoring purposes. Digital Health & Business According to a recent report from The American Journal of Medicine, almost 92 percent of Americans over the age of 65 suffer from one or more chronic diseases, including diabetes, lung disease, heart disease, hypertension, osteoarthritis and Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, chronic diseases cause seven of every 10 deaths in the U.S. and account for more than 75 percent of the country’s total healthcare costs. Worst still, chronic disease is increasing in numbers. It is estimated that by 2020 almost 48 percent of the total U.S. population will suffer from some type of chronic disease. To combat this battle, more and more technology brands are joining hands to make digital healthcare more feasible. Companies like Apple, Samsung, Facebook and Google have entered into partnerships to promote the overall health and wellness of people. Technology giants Apple and Samsung have already invested in wearable technology that supports various sectors of healthcare. The eagerly anticipated Apple Watch, which is set to hit the consumer market in this month, is integrated with sensors to monitor heart rate, pulse, daily activity and much more. Besides, we have examples of other wearable devices such as Fitbit, Jawbone, and Misfit that many have already made a part of their daily life. However, not every attempt to jump on the digital health bandwagon was successful. Zeo, for example, a sleep monitoring system that was one of the first of its kind, shut its doors in 2013. The device included a wireless, sensor-equipped headband that communicated with an alarm clock to capture the data transmitted from the device. However, the device failed to provide practical, actionable data, and as a result lost in the competition from more general purpose gadgets like Fitbit. Wearable devices combine medicine with intelligence to transform the healthcare industry. Never before has the world of healthcare services been so readily available to patients, thanks to mobile and cloud technology. Besides opening doors to improved healthcare, these trends are also establishing digital health as a business sector in itself. Image Source: Unsplash, Jordan McQueen Tags IoTDevelopmentCross Platform Share Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on Twitter Share Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on Twitter Sign up for our monthly newsletter. Sign up for our monthly newsletter.