Latest news with #healthdata
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Why Gen Z Will Demand Crypto-Enabled Health Systems
Behavioral trends, digital ownership, and on-chain reputations are reshaping the future of healthcare Gen Z Generation Z (Gen Z) is now coming of age—and with them, a digital-first mindset that is set to disrupt every traditional industry, including healthcare. Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z doesn't just use technology—they live in it. They were raised during the internet boom, financial decentralization, and the notion that digital identity and ownership matter. As this generation becomes the dominant consumer and workforce demographic, it's no longer a question of if the healthcare system will adapt—but how fast. Health is Personal—and Digital Unlike previous generations, where healthcare was more authoritative Gen Z sees health as part of a broader identity ecosystem. From fitness apps to wearable devices, this cohort expects real-time, on-demand access to healthcare. 'Gen Z grew up during a period of significant change in healthcare and tends to be wary of traditional healthcare providers. Nearly 10% express distrust in health information from providers, a rate significantly higher than older generations. They are also the least willing to share their health data, with 17% preferring not to share it with any stakeholder' (HITConsultant). With this mindset follows the expectation to be in control of their health information—and the ability to control, share, or even monetize it on their own terms. The global mHealth apps market size was USD 36.68 billion in 2024. The market is projected to grow from USD 40.65 billion in 2025 to USD 88.70 billion by 2032 (Fortune Business Insights). This demographic is already seen as early adopters for non-conventional healthcare services, including at-home tests for wellness optimization. They are comfortable using technology to explore health-related topics (HITConsultant): Crypto-native solutions, like health data wallets, appeal to these expectations. Platforms that allow users to own their electronic health records (EHRs) and grant access via smart contracts rather than paper forms or opaque systems will see growing adoption. In a world where loyalty is built on transparency and control, Gen Z will opt into platforms that treat them like stakeholders, not just patients. Digital Ownership Is a Right, Not a Feature For Gen Z, digital ownership isn't a novelty—it's a right. They are exposed to assets such as NFT collections, DeFi accounts, and online avatars. So when it comes to their most intimate information—their health data—the same can be expected. Gen Z is already demanding permission when it comes to their online presence and data. According to Rachel Sterling Chief Marketing Officer for Identity Digital when it comes to social presence, Gen Z creators want stability, ownership, and control over their online presence. According to new survey data from EY…(47%) of the 5,000 members of Gen Z surveyed by EY said they believed there needs to be permission to use a person or organization's data. As platform starts to adopt these new emerging technologies it is imperative to take into account the privacy of users that adopt in to the service. Healthcare startups and legacy systems alike that align with Web3 values—decentralization, transparency, ownership, and interoperability—will be best positioned to earn Gen Z's trust and participation. Gen Z is not just another digital generation—they are the architects of a decentralized future. Healthcare must evolve beyond portals and PDFs. The demand is clear: crypto-enabled, user-first, and privacy-respecting systems that recognize patients not just as users, but as sovereign data owners. The question is: who's ready to build for them?
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
This Digital Health Startup Wants To Help Hospitals Make Sense Of All Their Tech
Innovaccer cofounder and CEO Abhinav Shashank AI chatbots. Scribing tools. Insurance claims software. Electronic health records. Abhinav Shashank, cofounder and CEO of digital health startup Innovaccer, looks at all the new technology for healthcare providers and hospital systems and sees a big problem. 'Healthcare is the only place where technology came in and everything became more inefficient,' Shashank told Forbes. The problem is that large healthcare systems, which may have dozens of hospitals and thousands of physicians, often have lots of data and a variety of tools to manage it, but no easy way to put them all together. 'We really felt that in every part of our lives we have better technology,' he said. 'Our Uber driver has better technology than our doctors do.' Today, Innovaccer unveiled its solution to that problem: A new software platform called Gravity that's designed to be a one-stop shop for all of those disparate tools and vast amounts of healthcare data. Now, instead of needing to log into different portals and websites over and over again, Gravity acts as a gateway to all of them — almost like a web browser, but for health tools and data instead of the internet. Gravity has more than 400 pre-built connectors, which can pull in data from electronic health records, insurance claims and elsewhere. All that data is then accessible to a palette of AI tools, which are also available for doctors and hospital administrators to tap into from the same interface. Shashank hopes that Gravity will be 'the platform of all platforms,' helping hospitals avoid spending millions of dollars to integrate all their technology. The goal: better patient care, more efficient operations and better financial performance. Gravity is currently in beta with two customers (which the company declined to identify), and Innovaccer is now in conversations with dozens more health systems about its potential, Shashank told Forbes. Innovaccer declined to disclose pricing for Gravity, but said it will be based on consumption. The launch of the cloud-based product comes just four months after San Francisco-based Innovaccer raised a whopping $275 million funding round that valued the company, which makes a suite of software products for managing patient care and hospital operations, at $3.45 billion. That investment, which brought its total funding to $675 million, was the largest so far this year for a digital health startup. Its investors include industry heavyweights Kaiser Permanente, Banner Health and the venture arm of life sciences firm Danaher, as well as B Capital, Tiger Global and Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala. Innovaccer isn't the only one to see the problem of data fragmentation across a proliferation of disparate tools in healthcare. Epic, the goliath of healthcare recordkeeping, and data-analytics giant Palantir, as well as a slew of venture-backed startups are tackling healthcare information overload too. Shashank figures that there's room for a company that's built from the ground up to fix this problem. The global market for pulling all these parts together ('healthcare interoperability solutions,' in the lingo) is forecast to rise from $4 billion last year to $14.5 billion in 2034, according to Precedence Research. 'What you need is this infrastructure that allows for these applications to coexist and exchange information,' Shashank said. Shashank, 36 and a 2017 alum of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list, grew up in Lucknow, a city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, and studied mechanical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur. He was fresh out of school and working in India for Ingersoll Rand, developing 'smart home' management software, when he had an idea for how similar technology could be used in a variety of different industries. 'I went to the CEO of Ingersoll Rand at that point and said, 'I want to start this company,'' Shashank said. In winter 2014, with the blessing of Ingersoll Rand and $3.5 million in seed money, Shashank and his cofounders—Kanav Hasija (the company's chief product officer) and Sandeep Gupta (chief operations officer)—began building out Innovaccer's data analytics platform. They signed up Disney and NASA as early customers. Then they started meeting healthcare organizations and saw just how fragmented patient data is. So after raising $20 million in 2016, they shuttered their existing business to focus exclusively on healthcare. 'That was not a fun board meeting,' Shashank recalled. 'The investors said, 'If you have conviction, we'll back you.' But I am sure they were panicked.' It was a big risk, but it worked. To learn more about the U.S. healthcare system, Shashank and his cofounders lived at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa, for more than four months, and asked lots of questions. They saw firsthand how doctors needed a single point of access for healthcare data and the tools to analyze it. So they started building software to help, rolling out solutions for patient management, insurance support and physician insights. Word of their work at Mercy soon spread from that Iowa hospital to others in Nebraska and Texas and California, despite Innovaccer having just a handful of salespeople. Innovaccer signed on Kaiser, Banner Health, Orlando Health and others as customers. Today, it claims to have more than 200 customers, including seven of the top 10 health systems. Shashank's engineering background gives Innovaccer an advantage, said Murali Venkatesan, head of Danaher Ventures, which invested in the company in January. He explained that because Innovaccer incorporates information from Epic and other electronic health records systems, as well as data sets from the lab and elsewhere, it's a lot easier to search across it to find answers. The company has lined up nearly $200 million in signed contracts on an annualized basis, and Shashank said he hopes to reach $230 million to $250 million by yearend. (The company declined to disclose actual revenue.) Shashank laughs when asked what he expected in the early days. 'My initial thought was if it gets to $10 million we would be kings,' he said. Innovaccer started building out Gravity's AI-enabled software last year. As AI tools such as scribing apps for doctors proliferated, hospitals had become awash in different pieces of new technology that had trouble working together, Shashank explained. 'They were getting bombarded,' he said. As Innovaccer builds out Gravity, Shashank hopes to integrate technology that ranges from prior authorization automation to post-surgery care. Rather than creating all these tools itself, the plan is to open up the platform to applications, including those created by the hospitals themselves. Shashank figures that fixing healthcare's technology backbone will help with the overwhelming amount of waste in the U.S. healthcare system, with 2019 estimates published in JAMA putting it as high as $935 billion per year. 'I think as an industry we should hold AI accountable to get $1 trillion of waste reduced. It's doable,' he said. MORE FROM FORBES
CBS News
15-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Personal health data potentially compromised after cyber incident in Anne Arundel County
Patient health data may be compromised after a cyber incident impacting Anne Arundel County. The attack happened between Jan. 28 and Feb. 22. On Thursday, the county said issued a statement saying the incident potentially impacted personal information of people who received treatment at the county's Health Department. "The ongoing investigation subsequently determined that there was unauthorized access to a limited subset of the county's network between January 28, 2025 and February 22, 2025, and that certain files within the network were accessed or downloaded without authorization during that time," the county said. What information was affected? Personal information that could have been impacted in the breach, includes names, addresses and medical conditions, according to the county. Officials say they don't believe financial information was compromised. "The county is working with technical consultants to figure out what information was in the affected files and who it belongs to," officials said Thursday. The county is currently notifying individuals through news releases, and the Anne Arundel County government website. The county will contact individuals directly once identified. How did the cyber incident unfold? The data breach announcement comes nearly three months after the initial cyber problems disrupted county services. County buildings closed temporarily on Feb. 24, reopening the next day with limited services. Officials restricted internet access as a precaution while working to restore systems. Other Maryland agencies face similar incidents Baltimore City Public Schools experienced a cyberattack in February that exposed personal information of employees, volunteers, contractors, and some students. That breach potentially revealed social security numbers, driver's license numbers, and passport information. Baltimore schools notified affected people by mail on April 22 and offered free credit monitoring for two years.
South China Morning Post
15-05-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Apple or Samsung? Hong Kong Consumer Council test shows deviations in smartwatches
Consumers should not rely on smartwatches to track their fitness levels for medical purposes, Hong Kong's consumer watchdog has warned, after a test showed deviations of data exceeded as much as 74 per cent. Advertisement The Consumer Council revealed on Thursday that three models out of 44 tested smartwatches and fitness trackers which were locally available had deviations of between 59 per cent and 74 per cent when counting steps taken by the user, which may be caused by including minor hand movements. The heart rate measurement also varied, with two models showing deviations of over 11 per cent in most activities and as much as 21 per cent during cycling. 'The health and fitness data collected by smartwatches or fitness trackers was for estimation only and not necessarily accurate. Thus, they are suitable only for reference and not for medical use,' said Chung Chi-yung, the chairman of the council's Committee on Research and Testing. The test, conducted by a European laboratory, included 38 smartwatch models with prices ranging from HK$199 to HK$9,799 (US$25 to US$1,255) and six fitness trackers priced from HK$139 to HK$498. Advertisement Three assessors wore a sample of each model during various activities, including resting, low-intensity walking, high-intensity running and cycling. The recorded data were then compared against those obtained from precision instruments used at the same time. The test found that most models performed well in estimating walking and running steps, with deviations not exceeding 7 per cent. Among them, 25 smartwatch models had deviations of no more than 3 per cent, and were lower during running.
Irish Times
15-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Whoop MG review: a wearable that makes sense of what all the data means for you
Whoop MG Price : €399 Website : Where To Buy : Whoop If there is one thing that wearable technology company Whoop knows how to do, it is health data. And now the company is set to expand on that, with not one but two new bands. The first is the Whoop 5.0, an upgraded replacement for the standard band that has been around for a few years. The second is the Whoop MG, a device that is designed to give you even more data about your health, including an ECG, a blood-pressure monitor and additional heart screener capabilities. If you are new to Whoop, all of this will mean very little, so first some backstory. In 2015 Boston-based Whoop raised a shedload of money to create a wearable that would help athletes and their coaches gain insights into their training by taking data on key metrics – heart rate, heart rate variability, ambient temperature and movement – and crunching it into something more usable. It did this through the wearable strap, which was refreshingly screen-free, and the app, communicating all the data through Bluetooth. READ MORE A decade on, not much has changed. The Whoop band is still screen-free and the app is still a key part of the equation. Rory McIlroy is a fan. So is Cristiano Ronaldo. Whoop is doing pretty well for itself. [ Wearable tech: 'It's like having a personal health coach in your pocket. I live a healthier, better life because I have this' Opens in new window ] But now Whoop tracks even more metrics, and gives you data on everything from your daily strain and recovery to hormonal insights. Add in the ECG and blood-pressure features, and you have a fairly well-rounded device. The new Whoop looks a lot like the old one at first glance. It is smaller, by about 7 per cent, but most people wouldn't notice the external differences unless they held the two sensors side by side and really scrutinised them. The version reviewed here is the Whoop MG, which has one giveaway – the indents on the metal case that facilitate the ECG. Rest your finger and thumb here to take an ECG. Although Whoop asks you to specify where you are wearing the band, I found it worked better on my left wrist. The right wrist resulted in a failed ECG every time. Some of the features are immediately available. For example, the ECG can be taken and results fed back in 30 seconds, with the band screening for atrial fibrillation in the background. Blood-pressure insights require calibration with a cuff to get an accurate measurement; three readings will get you started. Whoop is clear that this is not a way to manage hypertension, however, so if you suffer with high blood pressure, you will still have to stick to your doctor's orders. For the rest of us it will provide some information about what is going on internally, and maybe give some insight on how it is affecting our sleep and overall performance. [ Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro: High-tech wearable with usual health features Opens in new window ] The Healthspan feature will require a bit more commitment. You need to wear the band for a few weeks, recording sleep data, before it will unlock. Then you can see not only your Whoop Age, but also your pace of ageing. Combined, the two quantify your long-term health. Certain factors – sleep quality, exercise and so on – will affect the figures so you can see what your lifestyle is doing to your overall health in an easy-to-understand way. It also gives you tips on how to improve it. That will be a longer-term project, and outside the scope of this review. With all these new elements come new subscription plans. Whoop One costs €199 per year and gives users fitness insights. Whoop Peak adds advanced health, fitness and longevity insights for €264 per year, while Whoop Life comes with medical-grade health and performance insights for €399 per year. The Life subscription is the option for the Whoop MG; it works out at about €34 a month. The Whoop MG is designed to appeal to those who want more information about their health and fitness, outside the standard athletic contingent that Whoop would once have targeted. The question is why people would go for it over, say, a standard smartwatch that includes ECG (the Apple Watch) or blood-pressure monitoring (the Samsung Galaxy Watch) for a flat fee rather than a monthly subscription. It depends on what you are looking for. Whoop's strength is its ability to take the data and give you feedback and tips on how to improve your health, rather than simply presenting you with some basic data and hoping you steer yourself in the right direction. Good The Whoop MG comes with some useful features, including the ECG and blood-pressure insights. It gives you data, but also tells you what it means, an area that I sometimes struggle with when it comes to other wearables. Battery life is great, at more than two weeks, and the redesigned wireless battery pack you clip to the band to recharge it has also been tweaked to fit the smaller band. Bad If you don't like the idea of paying a subscription to access services, the Whoop band isn't for you. But with so many services turning to fees for additional insights, it is inevitable that we will end up paying someone, somewhere to tell us what all this data we are collecting means. Everything else New sensors mean new bands and new ways of wearing the sensors more discreetly. The Leatherluxe band makes the Whoop band more subtle, and you can also invest in some of the Whoop Body clothing. Verdict Whoop has added some valuable insights to its platform, but the ongoing subscription price may be a hurdle for some potential users.
