Healthcare Design - March 2021 - 34

The

Center

F U T U R E F O R WA R D

ADVERTISERS' INDEX

Advances in remote patient monitoring and consumer-focused
apps support a future where healthcare can be delivered
anytime, anywhere By Debra Levin

Architex .............................................................. C4

has attended
the Consumer Electronics
Show (CES) in Las Vegas
can attest to the fact that
the show is both informative and overwhelming.
Last year (my first year attending), it covered 2.9 million square feet of exhibit space and welcomed
more than 170,000 people. While it usually
takes over most of Las Vegas, this year, like many
large-scale, in-person gatherings, CES was held
virtually. And as much as I missed the interactions with the other attendees and being able to
walk the expo halls, the virtual format allowed
participants to attend far more presentations
than would have been possible in person.
Focusing my time on programs related to
health and healthcare, I noticed a few trends
arising that will likely influence our industry.
On a macro level, the impact of a national
rollout of 5G technology is going to affect most
aspects of our lives. Promising speeds as much
as 10 times faster than the current 4G, 5G is expected to be a catalyst for connecting humans
and machines in unprecedented ways-and
healthcare will be no exception. It's also anticipated that 5G will pave the way for truly smart
cities and autonomous driving vehicles that allow people to live independently longer, which
will no doubt impact how and where healthcare
is delivered.
On a micro level, the trends and products
visible at CES that are likely to influence our
industry fell into several categories, including
hospital at home, safely aging in place, healthrelated embedded devices, telemedicine, and
app-based care.
Taking a deeper dive into two of those, I
found some interesting ideas discussed.
Hospital at Home/Safer at Home-Remote
patient monitoring, often paired with consumer-focused apps, was the goal of many new devices launched at CES this year. These devices offer
a range of functions, including monitoring heart
rate, heart rate variability, lung sounds, blood
pressure, glucose, temperature, sleep, and oxy-

Altro Floors .............................................................5

NYONE WHO

MARCH 2021

gen saturation. They might also allow patients
to send a continuous flow of data to their care
teams, a solution that enables patients to make
more informed treatment decisions as well as
seek real-time advice. Some devices could even
notify care teams or family members if a problem is detected.
Among the new products was a smart lamp
from a Belgian company that's designed specifically to help keep seniors safe at home. The
sleek lamp fixture hangs from the ceiling and
uses artificial intelligence to detect falls. If a fall
is detected, it asks the resident if they are OK
and can automatically call family members or
emergency services. Air quality monitoring and
fire and burglary detection are built in, too.
App-based Care-There continues to be a
proliferation of smartphone mobile health apps
geared toward improving quality of life and
day-to-day care through digital interventions,
including for specific medical conditions. These
apps focus on symptom control, education, medication reminders, and connecting users to their
care providers as well as a community of people
focused on similar issues. These apps offer the
potential for real advances in diagnostics, treatment, and disease management, if well designed
and held to standards where outcomes are evidence based. This technology may potentially
extend the healthcare environment to anywhere
a person is at the time of use.
It's been said repeatedly that COVID-19 accelerated many trends that were already underway, and our industry is no different. It's an
exciting time but also one where we'll need to be
thoughtful. As we plan out our next generation
of care facilities, it's not unrealistic to think that
projects we have on the boards now will come to
fruition in a very different-looking world than
the one we're in now. 
Debra Levin is president and CEO of The Center for
Health Design. She can be reached at D L E V I N @
H E A LT H D E S I G N . O R G .

HCDMAGAZINE.COM

Armstrong Ceiling ..................................................28

Armstrong Flooring.................................................15

AVA by Novalis .....................................................10

Carolina ................................................................1

Congoleum ......................................................... C3

EFA Expo & Conference .........................................32

HCD Expo & Conference........................................32

Inpro .....................................................................2

Interwoven .............................................................7

KNU ..................................................................33

Kwalu ................................................................ C2

La-Z-Boy...............................................................33

Momentum Group ..................................................8

Stance Healthcare .................................................13

The index to advertiser page numbers is published for
reader convenience. Every effort is made to list page
numbers correctly. The listing is not part of the advertising
contract and the publisher is not responsible for errors or
omissions.

http://www.HCDMAGAZINE.COM

Healthcare Design - March 2021

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