A living laboratory to drive digital health growth: the government as innovative incubator

Seniorlink CEO, Tom Riley, was featured in FierceHealthcare this week. Riley shared his thoughts on the government’s evolving role in digital health and the opportunities digital health companies are taking to improve quality of care. 

Via FierceHealthcare:

“Government has played a primary role in driving digital health investment. Early concepts such as “meaningful use,” launched in 2009 to provide incentives to physician practices to adopt EHR technology, are visible examples of a government investing in innovative digital health solutions. Yet providing direct funding has not been the sole strategy deployed by government. For example, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has made both identified (the “blue button”) and de-identified data available for analysis. The availability of this data has resulted in the creation of new companies focused on population health and data and analytics. By providing access to capital and data, government has recognized that it controls a “living laboratory” of patients and patient information and has begun to position itself as a partner, not just a source of funding.

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This January’s passing of the RAISE Family Caregivers Act will open up still more opportunities for creators of digital health solutions to impact costs and improve quality. The Act requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a national strategy for supporting and integrating the work of family caregivers, a group of over 40 million citizens whose largely uncompensated efforts account for over $500B in value that serves as a foundation for the US healthcare system. Investments in solutions that focus on leveraging the dedication of 40 million family caregivers is the next frontier.”

To read the full article, click here!