healthcare

Voice-First. The rapid growth of the market for voice-enabled technologies, sparked by the popularity of the Amazon Echo, has the potential to be as disruptive a technology change as any that preceded it. Some are describing this new trend for devices and software is known as Voice-First, that is, the primary interface to the technology is spoken. These offerings are found within hardware, some of which is designed to include Smart Home features. Examples include the ‘smart speaker’ Amazon Echo product line, Google Home, and in 2018, Apple HomePod. And Voice-First is built into software such as new smart, personal, digital, and virtual assistants. Note examples that are part of platform ecosystems: Alexa, Siri, Cortana, Samsung’s Bixby, and Google Assistant. The category also includes voice interaction with devices as disparate as wearables, tablets, security alarms, healthcare interactions, and cars.  Since this is an early, even Version 1.1 market, many more Voice-First examples are forthcoming, maybe even next week!

What is virtual reality and why should seniors care? Emerging from the gaming world, virtual reality technology and content is beginning to deliver in healthcare and senior settings.  The strict definition, "computer technology that delivers an experience through headsets" is terse. But multiple firms, from CDW Healthcare and Morning Pointe Memory Care to Cedars Sinai Hospital -- these organizations see an opportunity to use the technology in interesting and beneficial ways.

Health tech future: you have to love the wording – and this time, the press ate it up.  Apparently at the time no one really noticed the 2016 Rock Health report on ‘willingness’ to share health data.  But times have changed. So Mary Meeker’s report, which everyone now quotes, cites that data as though it were important input for brands.  And now it is really and inaccurately famous. She opines, that of the ‘brands well-positioned for digital health’ – the leader is Google.  The oft-quoted answer (see Tech Crunch “Pretty neat” insight): “Meeker’s report says a full 60 percent of us were willing to share our health data with Google in 2016.”  That does sound pretty neat, huh?