CES 2023 spotlights the pivotal year ahead for digital health companies

Article by Lisa Phillips | Jan 6, 2023

The “news”: As usual, digital health companies swarmed the annual CES show in Las Vegas with new patient monitoring products and technologies. Some will prove too pricey for consumers, while others offer single-point solutions that won’t appeal to providers.

A sampling of new products showcased the full gamut of digital health:

Barcoda launched the BHeart, a heart-health tracker with an “endless battery” powered by the user’s motion, body heat, and environmental light.
Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute showed off sports and fitness technologies. iSportWeaR is a wearable device that provides health analysis during exercise. Digital Twin for Sport Guidance with Vital Sign Sensing is a virtual coach for indoor bike and flywheel training.
Electronic Caregiver introduced Addison, a 3D-animated virtual caregiver that monitors patients via a Lenovo computer or Yoga convertible tablet in their homes.
Baby sleep company Halo previewed the Baby SleepSure, a wearable monitor for infants that tracks skin temperature, heart rate, rollovers, and motion.

Also at CES: Teladoc introduced a refreshed app that gives users one login and one platform to access its primary care, mental health, and chronic care offerings in English and Spanish, per Modern Healthcare.

A major impetus was to reduce friction for patients seeking care and improve clinical outcomes, thereby enabling future growth.
The move was also a response to changing market conditions. Providers, employers, and payers are growing tired of point solutions and are looking for more integrated, end-to-end solutions.

Our take: 2023 looks to be a pivotal year for digital health companies, as macroeconomic conditions continue to push investors’ demand for profitability over growth. At the same time, customers (in the form of patients, providers, employers, and insurers) are looking for technologies that prove their clinical worth and deliver seamless care journeys.

For patients, that means a suite of interoperable monitoring devices that measure biometric or other data and transmit results to their caregiver(s). Single-purpose devices for sleep, weight, heart rate, medication compliance, and other care factors become burdensome and eventually not used.

For providers, proven clinical data and outcomes are required to get consideration, and integration with existing electronic medical record systems is becoming a necessity. Products and technologies that add to clinicians’ workflow or require more staff to monitor patients’ data won’t find many buyers.

Employers and insurers are inundated with digital companies trying to get their products in front of patients. They’re looking for end-to-end solutions that their members will actually use to improve their health outcomes (which = lower medical costs).