The empowered consumer in health care is better demonstrated by the UK National Health Services mantra “nothing about me without me.” Every experience is becoming a personalized experience by fully engaging the consumer. Even ordinary devices, from weight scales to glucometers, are becoming intelligent devices. The medical device companies are going beyond just providing products to engaging a consumer-centric care management service specifically tailored “for you.”

The companies that succeed in this new Internet of Me era will become the next generation of household names. Wearable devices and health monitoring devices assisting patients are now commonplace. Communicative and increasingly chatty medical devices are extremely appealing for patients of any age.

The devices are becoming user-centric and capable of transmitting health statistics to your smart phone as well as to your provider. Internet of Me is building a tightly coupled fabric that is woven into our daily lives. As these devices and services become more tightly coupled with our cell phones and our preferences, they gather an extraordinary amount of data about us. In the Internet of Me, this data is being used to identify consumer preferences and allow smart devices to make decisions about what consumers will want and take action on those decisions. This is a technology paradigm shift toward a “me-centered” universe – the ultimate consumerism.

Ease of Setup and Use
It is even more important to launch smart wireless medical devices that can be used by patients without any setup or learning curve. Medical device companies need to design every product with user experience and personalization in mind. The devices are going to be increasingly used by patients at home in an unsupervised environment. The device must work the moment the patient gets it, with no setup, no assembly, no downloads and no syncing required. The device should be used in the exact same way as the regular non-connected version of the device, so it’s simple for the user.

The battery in these devices should last for multiple months without needing to be recharged. Spirotel is a wireless spirometer designed and manufactured by Medical International Research. It is designed with personalization and easy-to-use features. The user can personalize it with the help of a digital diary. The digital diary is capable of asking tailored questions, such as, how many times one experienced asthma symptoms today? If the first test reading is not within the preferred range, the device automatically prompts the user to repeat the test and exhale with greater effort.

Generating Data and Getting Personal
Some medical device product companies offer a cloud-based platform that enables wireless transfer, storage, and display of clinical data. This platform allows interoperability with a variety of medical devices and apps which are natively available. It generates an enormous amount of clinical data which helps the health care industry in many ways. Personalization is key, and such platforms can create a personalized baseline for an individual’s health by collecting data from a number of wearable devices or sensors.

It then looks for any deviations from that baseline. The user has the option to choose any device to constantly weigh an individual’s readings against their norms on a real-time basis. This function makes it much more effective in detecting any anomalies or other potential problems so it can then alert health care providers if necessary.

Design, Delivery of Personal Care Is Paramount
The Internet of Me is transforming the way medical devices are used for delivering personalized care. Patients will be the group that ultimately decides which devices will be adopted, so it is paramount to design these devices and tools for patients first. It is also remarkable that the Internet of Me is getting much more established, with wide adoption of connected devices in the health care industry. The future is focusing more on smart medical devices and health care is adopting many such devices with an aim to improve the personalized care altogether.

About the author: Bipin Thomas is a renowned global thought-leader on consumer-centric health care transformation. Thomas is a board member of Healthcare Business News and chairman of ICURO, a consumer-centric digital care outcomes research and management organization, where he is redefining personalized care delivery by connecting all stakeholders in the emerging health care ecosystem. Thomas is a board member of Healthcare Business News and chairman of ICURO, a consumer-centric digital care outcomes research and management organization, where he is redefining personalized care delivery by connecting all stakeholders in the emerging health care ecosystem. Thomas is a former senior executive at Accenture and UST Global, where he launched strategic digital initiatives across the care continuum including providers, payers, medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical and life sciences, federal and state health agencies.