Health 2.0 Conference, on September 25-27, at the San Francisco Hilton – Union Square

Cynergy
Chris Mahoney
Director Healthcare Strategy

Can you describe what you think are the major themes/highlights for attendees at Health 2.0 this year?

In the spring at Health 2.0 San Diego, major themes were social, gamification and food/healthy eating types of applications and use cases. We saw some innovative ideas that explored the potential for applications to support healthy choices.

However, healthcare technology applications still need to overcome incredible decentralization, specifically of medically relevant data. The system today is not yet as patient-focused as it needs to be. This is in large part due to the difficulty in aggregating a patient’s health data into one spot to then do something with it.

I hope to see more emphasis at the upcoming Health 2.0 San Francisco on how to manage the larger challenge of decentralized data streams. By meeting this challenge, we can drive some of the incredible opportunities to create new tools and foster real engagement with patients and their health.

I also expect to see more applications and discussion around social, gamification and data tracking (e.g. Quantified Self). One thing I am really keen to see is how “gamification” is evolving in health applications. Gamification has the potential to play a role in changing patient behavior but may be incredibly easy to miss the boat as positively impacting healthy behavior changes is far more complex interaction.

Please detail Cynergy’s business strategy & objectives in the healthcare space.

Cynergy is a Technology Agency full of passionate, driven and curious folks who love solving tough problems and building incredible software. We bring together some of the best software engineering teams you’ll find anywhere, working side-by-side with an amazing group of award-winning software product designers. Together, their passion is to take great ideas and transform them into rich, engaging and immersive experiences. And for fifteen years, that's exactly what we've done for companies around the world.

Right now the notion of User Experience and Engagement seem to take the back seat as the healthcare industry looks to solve the biggest problem it has today, the integration of health data so that we have a truly patient-focused health system. Our role is to help guide and develop the next generation of products that will be born from the realization of the "data integration reality" the industry is chasing today. It's no longer a question of “if”, it's when.

The “curtain raiser” at the conference is on “The state of Health 2.0.” How would you describe it?

Vibrant, funded (and fundable), growing. The cost of healthcare is through the roof in this country with no corresponding increase in health status. While there are a number of reasons why that is, patients are now being asked to shoulder more and more of the healthcare cost. I see Health 2.0 and the activity in this space as putting healthcare back within the patient’s control. We as health “consumers” are demanding more from the services for which we pay and are more closely managing our own health and the costs of health. Health 2.0 is a major part of that push forward. After all, healthcare is about helping people.

In what way is user-driven content & collaboration, esp. on mobile devices, transforming healthcare?

User driven content and collaboration, especially for mobile devices, is about putting more tools in the hands of patients to manage their health. Increasingly the mobile device is becoming the core conduit to access information online. Mobile devices are already a major director of everyday activities, from checking bank balances to deciding where to eat, who to invite and how to get there. The next natural evolution is for mobile devices to play a greater role in accessing and engaging with our health and healthcare.

What are your goals for the Health 2.0 conference and going forward through the end of 2011?

We are pushing ahead of the curve where technology meets healthcare. Our clients look to us to give them tomorrow’s solutions to today's problems. Health 2.0 is a great opportunity for us to keep a finger on the pulse of where the next innovations and innovators are headed.

What is the most important policy / regulatory development affecting healthcare IT & mobile healthcare through 2012?

Right now for me, the most important policy and regulatory development is the FDA guidance surrounding the software that interacts with medical devices. We have already seen that the relationship between the doctor and the patient is changing as patients get input on managing their health from a wide range of sources. Doctors and health providers are changing as well, leveraging new technologies to deliver health and health information.

Both patients and doctors are using new technologies to help them make better decisions about health, such as what to eat and how to treat. This is new and uncharted territory for both the FDA and the companies seeking to create new tools and real change with new technologies. Right now, healthcare technology is absolutely starting to flourish, in part because the barrier to entry is lower in this sector than in any other in healthcare. However, the FDA guidance will be important in how we move forward in this sector.

Contact: chris.mahoney@cynergysystems.com
Phone: 619-573-9090
Visit: http://cynergysystems.com/

Kony
Jeffery Kendall
Vice President of Healthcare, Kony Solutions Inc.

Can you describe what you think are the major themes/highlights for attendees at Health 2.0 this year?

It's nice to see the concept of "health 2.0" finding more concrete definition in specific applications. As the concept of health 2.0 has developed over the past several years – I think everyone understood at a high level what it could mean for the future – now we're seeing the emergence of connected devices, mobile apps and gamification forming into solid strategies which are moving from an experiment to experience.

Please detail Kony’s business strategy & objectives in the healthcare space.

Kony Solutions is really about providing the software platform to help solve the enormous problem of fragmentation when it comes to multichannel and mobile strategies. Whether it's mobile apps, mobile websites, kiosks or other consumer touch points – the fragmentation of operating systems, hardware form factors, connectivity and others creates a large hurdle when trying to touch the broadest base of healthcare consumers. If the market continues to develop for one or two channels, such as iPhone and Android, we'll continue to disenfranchise the larger community who do not have access to smartphones – which currently is less than 40 percent of the U.S. market – and this number gets even smaller from a global perspective. The Kony Platform provides the only true "write once, run everywhere" capability to organizations – which in turn allows them to cost-effectively target the largest base of consumers.

The ‘curtain raiser ‘at the conference is on “The state of Health 2.0.” How would you describe it?

Health 2.0 has matured from experimental to gaining mainstream attention. All of the principles of health 2.0 – using technology to streamline and personalize care delivery – are highly leveraged in other consumer-driven industries. As we see the growth of consumerism in healthcare, the technology remains a critical enabler of the delivery system.

In what way is user-driven content & collaboration, esp. on mobile devices, transforming healthcare?

Consumer engagement is driven by two specific factors: presence and preference. As long as consumers can access information at the right time and over the right channel, then engagement around content and collaboration can exist. It's fine if companies are offering websites as an initial consumer engagement point, but they miss the mark when it comes to getting into the hands of the consumers at all times – something that only mobile apps can provide. Providing a multi-channel, multi-device offering that expands the reach and frequency to consumers is becoming the biggest driver to success in this space.

What are your goals for the Health 2.0 conference and going forward through the end of 2011?

We are focused on helping our customers bring their mobile visions and strategies into reality – without having to compromise the breadth of the audience they cover. We're actively looking at what the next channels are for consumer engagement and working to support those platforms as well.

What is the most important policy / regulatory development affecting healthcare IT & mobile healthcare through 2012?

I don't think the basics have changed – I think we need to focus on what impacts patient privacy and security. As healthcare becomes more connected, these issues will continue to be the biggest concerns as companies become stewards of personal health information.

Learn more about Kony and its products and services by visiting booth #6-7 during Health 2.0 or visit www.kony.com for more information.

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Learn more about COMPANY and its products and services by visiting booth #XXX during AHE or visit www.companyurl.com for more information.