Last week, rumors circulated that WebMD was getting acquired, shopping its business around to Walgreens Boots Alliance and UnitedHealthcare. The company later denied that it was negotiating the sale of any parts of its business.
But why did the sale rumor have legs? How is WebMD, one of the first online health destination sites, faring as digital health trends up?
To answer that question,...
All in all this year's CES event, like last year's, had no big breakout digital health announcements. Many companies did announce news, however, and many of those releases were updates from launches the year before. Below is a roundup of digital health news coming out of CES 2016. Be sure to read our CES 2016 health device roundup (if you haven't already) for a comprehensive list of device...
By Jessica Davis, Associate Editor, Healthcare IT News
As they look to population health management, nearly two-thirds of hospitals and healthcare systems have adopted remote patient monitoring and analytics into their care processes, but there's a long journey ahead before many get their strategies down.
"The initiatives have yet to be defined, as it's a departure on how physicians and care...
By the MobiHealthNews team
This morning a number of big name medical institutions launched new studies using Apple's ResearchKit, iPhones and, in at least one case, the Apple Watch. As more ResearchKit study apps become available on Apple's app store, it appears that many of them are laying the groundwork for future FDA-cleared medical apps. It not only seems to be the case, the medical...
By Bradley Merrill Thompson
If I invented an unprecedented mobile technology for treating tennis elbow, the law would require me to do substantial and expensive clinical trials before bringing it to market. In my last post, I argued that the FDA regulatory system is structurally biased against new technology, including novel software, even if it is low risk. By law, any medical device that is...
The third quarter of 2015 was another big one for digital health, with $689 million in funding raised by 49 different companies. Read ahead for an exhaustive recap of the quarter with links to MobiHealthNews coverage of notable events throughout. If you’d prefer to navigate to a particular section, here’s where you can find our digital health news round-up section for payor news, pharma news,...
by Bradley Merrill Thompson
Let’s say no one had ever invented the tongue depressor, but this year, in a flash of inspiration, I came up with the idea. Indeed, let’s say there’s nothing else like it. To bring the first tongue depressor to market, it’s quite likely I would have to spend years conducting clinical trials, to be followed up by perhaps a year of FDA review. For a tongue depressor. Why...
By Bradley Merrill Thompson
Healthcare in America needs disrupting. The media has widely reported on the high cost of, and poor outcomes produced by, the US health care system. Fortunately, attracted by possible profit in a market that currently constitutes over 17 percent of GDP, quite a few startups are anxious to do the needed disrupting. Indeed, innovators from many places outside of...
By Bradley Merrill Thompson
With the growth of health apps, entrepreneurs often need to determine if FDA regulates their particular mobile app. As I’ve explained in other posts and indeed in a book, that question has a number of facets to it, but in this post I want to focus on the most important – the intended use of the app. This concept of intended use is indeed not just the determining factor...
By Bradley Merrill Thompson
Over the last couple years, FDA has clarified the scope of its regulation over mobile health. In the agency’s September 2013 guidance, FDA spelled out its oversight for some of the most common mobile medical apps. Then, last month, in two separate draft guidances FDA explained the limits on its oversight of apps used for general wellness like fitness trackers, as well...
