My Takeaway from CES: Connectivity Will Underpin the Future of Healthcare

By: Joe Drygas – VP Healthcare – AT&T Business

January 27, 2022 – When you think of the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES), you likely think of, well, electronics – TVs, laptops, headphones. But this year, health tech took center stage at CES, and for good reason. Digital health is growing rapidly, due in part to the pandemic. As the care setting shifts from hospital to home, virtual care, such as remote patient monitoring (RPM) and telehealth, has taken off. And I’m proud to say AT&T is leading in this space by providing connectivity, devices, security, and logistics services for these solutions.

Take our customer EarlySense, a CES® 2022 Innovation Awards Honoree. We’re providing connectivity for their InSight+® (not yet available for sale) and InSight at Home (currently available) sensing technology systems — both of which are built on the company’s medical-grade technology and re-engineered for the home. The systems utilize a contact-free, under-the-mattress sensor to continuously and passively collect patient vital signs, sleep and movement data. A cellular hub, provided, configured and powered by AT&T IoT, securely transmits data to the EarlySense cloud, where it can be integrated into care management platforms.

Another healthcare solution connected by AT&T and unveiled at CES is the Smart Meter iPulseOx™, the world’s first cellular-connected device that measures oxygen saturation in the blood stream, according to Smart Meter. The company supplies healthcare providers with cellular-enabled remote patient monitoring devices and services to help improve health outcomes for patients with chronic conditions. In addition to the new IPulseOx™, Smart Meter provides the iGlucose®, iBloodPressure 2.0™, and iScale™ devices. These easy, out-of-the-box monitoring devices run on our nationwide IoT network. They contain IoT SIM cards, so they automatically send the patient’s data over our IoT network to the SmartRPM cloud, where the healthcare provider accesses the data.

RPM continues to grow because healthcare providers realize the benefits to both them and patients. For doctors, RPM provides ready access to more complete patient data and the ability to act on it in near real-time, while automatic record keeping meets requirements for reimbursement. For patients, RPM means more control over their health and better health outcomes. And for both, it can result in lower costs.

But connectivity in healthcare goes beyond RPM. Our customer Spright, a part of Air Methods, the leading air medical service in the U.S., chose FirstNet®, Built with AT&T, to provide reliable and highly secure connectivity to support its fleet of medical delivery drones. The drones, which are in testing right now, will provide access to lifesaving resources. FirstNet is the only nationwide, high-speed broadband communications platform dedicated to and purpose-built for America’s first responders and the extended public safety community.

Now do you see why I say connectivity will underpin the future of healthcare? Healthcare is moving beyond four walls. Patients want access to it whenever and wherever they are. And healthcare solution providers are eager to deliver. But it goes beyond just virtual care. The whole medical ecosystem is relying more on connectivity. From medical drones to smart operating rooms to remote robotic surgery, connectivity is the core of the digital transformation of the healthcare industry. And that’s what we do best.

If you are innovating in the connected health space, stop by our booths at ViVE (#902) and HIMSS (#2659), or reach out here. Happy to help!