Health Care Unplugged: The Evolving Role of Wireless Technology

Publication Date: November 2007

Publisher: California HealthCare Foundation

Author(s): Richard Adler

Research Area: Health

Type: Report

Abstract:

Wireless technology enables clinicians to monitor patients remotely and give them timely health information, reminders, and support--potentially extending the reach of health care by making it available anywhere, anytime. This report is based on interviews with more than two dozen researchers, clinicians, and application developers, along with a review of a broad range of published papers and articles, Web resources, and other materials. It includes an overview of who is using wireless technology and how it is evolving, as well as the wide variety of wireless health care applications that are already available or under development. The impact these advances could have on providers, patients, and payers is also explored, as are the difficult issues that must still be resolved. The author concludes that the health care industry's appetite for wireless applications will likely depend more on systemic changes in the way medical services are delivered and reimbursed than the capabilities of the technology itself.