When it comes to acquisitions, funding and trends in health-tech this year, CB Insights has an excellent recap here. Not to be outdone, Rock Health’s year end review breaks it down nicely. And, from one of the most trusted sources in health-tech, Chrissy Farr weighs in on this years biggest successes and disappointments in digital health. 

Show Me a Customer

With retail moves like CVS’ acquisition of Aetna, Apple’s research study using Watch and even former client, EverlyWell striking a deal in the Shark Tank, it seems everyone is trying to own a touchpoint along the consumer health journey. While we may not have all reached Eugene Borukhovich status in connecting our health, I truly believe we can “reflect” back on 2017 as a breakout year for consumer health.

Writing On The WallIt’s clear healthcare will never be the same. As far as what exactly tech-giants are up to however, is still very unclear. Here’s a list of what we know and what could be in store for 2018. 

AppleThere’s a new device in the works in Cupertino. It’s a continuous glucose monitor, but it’s uncertain if it will be part of a future Watch release or a stand alone device. 

AmazonIt’s a bird, it’s a plane.. It’s Jeff Bezos and from the 1492 leak to talks of becoming a PBM, by most accounts no one knows for certain what Bezos and team are up to. 

Google/AlphabetWhat doesn’t Google have going on? 2017 saw a ton of healthcare acquisitions and initiatives from Google. (full timeline here)

• Our Take: Known for making sense of massive amounts of data, look to Google initiatives like Deep Mind , Project Baseline Study and LaunchPad Studio to make headlines in 2018.

Facebook, IBM, Microsoft, etc.The list goes on and on but expect big-tech as a whole, to be highly active in healthcare for 2018.

That’s hard to answer, so.. here goes. For all we accomplished in digital health this year, it’s NOT the thing.  It’s the thing that get’s us to the thing. (If you aren’t a Halt & Catch Fire fan, here’s the reference.) What I mean by this is simple. Right now healthcare is in flux. From politics, to payors to prescriptions; in healthcare there’s a ton of moving parts and even more unknowns. But one thing is clear, in healthcare the goal has always been improved outcomes. That’s the thing we ultimately want, that’s the “thing” we ultimately need to arrive at.

So how does AI or VR improve outcomes? How does Consumer Diagnostics improve outcomes? How do wearables and trackers improve outcomes? 

Before you answer, be sure you’re answering as a consumer. Because when consumers can answer those questions, that’s when you’ll know we have arrived. 

Here’s to 2018 and to truly getting to where we need to go in the new year! 

All the best,

Erik IbarraCalamine