The Future of Healthcare | Health & Wellness This Week

This article is part of ParkerWhite’s weekly series, “Health and Wellness This Week,” a roundup of the latest healthcare marketing news and what it means for your marketing strategy.This week, we look at how modern technology will prevent you from getting sick at a moment's notice, the President’s plan to keep America insured, and how healthcare companies are dominating the IPO rush.

This week in health and wellness:

• Medicine is transforming with a blink of an eye
• Implications on the Nation’s health-care
• Record setters in health-care startups

How Technology Will Eat Medicine

‍Technology is transforming medicine. With the use of Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS), companies such as Apple and Microsoft are able to measure vitals such as our temperature and heart rate and feed that data directly into cloud-based platforms. MEMS are packed neatly in articles of clothing, Band-Aids and even contact lenses to measure glucose levels. This form of technology will change the pharmaceutical industry by accurately determine what medications patients are taking, their effects, and report new ailments.This leads into genome analysis and the treatment of disease. The Genome Research Institute predicts treatment for diseases based on an individual’s genomic information. Google is jumping on board in this technology leap and is developing a system that will be able to detect cancers and notify a computer-based wearable for your wrist.

‍Marketing Strategy Insights

• MEMS sensors will contribute to Big Data and help healthcare companies address patient needs.
• Genome research is creating competition for companies such as Google/Apple/IBM to develop wearable technology alerting its wearers of ailments.
• The Pharmaceutical industry is utilizing new technology to accurately determine proper medications.

SOTU Approach to Health-CareThe State of the Union speech given by President Barack Obama called on Congress to pass a bill allowing workers in America paid sick and family leave. The President also proposed allowing doctors the use of precision medicine, which uses genetic testing in assistance to understanding individual’s reactions to certain treatments. In the long term, this approach is expected to lower costs and increase efficiency. While the Affordable Care Act was not directly mentioned, implications on its upside was stated by mentioning about 10 million people had received coverage.With so many Americans now being insured, the risk of any bills trying to take away their health insurance or other necessities provided, President Obama took the opportunity to address that he would veto any bill attempting to take away what he built during his presidency. While that tension exists, Obama did thank Congress in support of fighting Ebola and the $5.4 billion approved to assist in eradicating the disease.

‍Marketing Strategy Insights

• The number of uninsured Americans has dramatically dropped, increasing opportunity for healthcare companies to offer more products to more people.
• Congress approval of $5.4 billion to assist in eradicating Ebola could provide further prevention by the healthcare industry for future pandemics.
• Usage of precision medicine and genetic testing creates insight in individuals’ reactions to which treatments work best.

Health-Care Companies Look to Continue IPO Rush

‍Records were set in 2014 by health-care startup IPOs - up from 35 biotechnology companies made public in 2013, 2014 boasted a record of 58. Life Science interest is gaining offerings and a few venture-backed medical-device based businesses are taking notice and advancing IPO plans.

‍Marketing Strategy Insights

• Interest in life sciences offerings is bringing businesses to stage IPOs and about a dozen more have advanced their IPO plans.
• Strong pace of public offerings in health-care startups will continue.
• Startups will need to position themselves in this wave of new competition.