Parks Associates: 27% of Digital Health Device Owners Regularly Use a Portal to Access Personal Health Information

DALLAS, TX--(Marketwired - Sep 3, 2015) - Parks Associates research finds a strong correlation between ownership of digital health devices and usage of online health resources, including 27% of device owners who regularly use a patient portal versus only 5% of non-owners. The research firm will discuss partnership strategies, including ways to leverage technology to increase consumer engagement with connected health solutions, at the second-annual Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers, September 9-10, at The Omni Hotel in San Diego, California.

"Monthly usage of patient portals is increasing among U.S. broadband households, but 50% of U.S. broadband households do not regularly use these online health resources and 23% do not use health portals at all," said Harry Wang, Director, Health and Mobile Product Research, Parks Associates. "Device ownership can be a driver for online engagement, and innovations with open or private APIs are enabling partners from different industries, such as device makers and patient portal developers, to collaborate for new consumer health and wellness experiences. At Connected Health Summit, we will discuss ways to reach consumers who are not 'self-selected' to engage with healthcare solutions."

Connected Health Summit provides industry players with in-depth analysis on connected healthcare for multiple industries, including innovative engagement strategies with consumer-facing health devices and apps. Wang will moderate the session "Making Sense of Partnerships in the Connected Health Market" at 3:15 P.M. on Thursday, September 10. The panel examines the attributes of a successful partnership, business opportunities that partnerships can enable, and the critical elements for success, featuring the following industry leaders:

• Keith Epstein, Senior Strategic Advisor, AARP
• Maneesh Goyal, SVP, Corporate Development, Welltok
• Kevin Meagher, SVP Business Development, ROC-Connect
• Jim Roxburgh, RN, MPA, Director, Dignity Health Telemedicine Network
• Dennis Upah, Executive Vice President, Enterprise Markets, Remedy Health Media

"Rising expectations among consumers for a more retail-like, high-touch, and relevant experience online will drive the most meaningful and successful connected health solutions," said Keith Epstein, Senior Strategic Advisor, AARP. "Consumers will have more engagement in their own care and choices, and connected health solutions will need to deliver a high level of personalization to guide and inform individuals facing a complex healthcare system, financial constraints, and future risk -- difficult personal decisions involving all aspects of their well-being."

"We have to forge new partnerships if the healthcare industry is to realize the benefits of connectivity," said Kevin Meagher, SVP Business Development, ROC-Connect. "Building simple, affordable, and scalable solutions is a challenge, but it is possible. It will deliver huge benefits to both consumers and the healthcare industry."

Connected Health Sponsors include CEA, Tata Consultancy Services, Validic, Care Innovations, Higi, Humana, MDLIVE, Alarm.com, Lowe's, ROC-Connect, Teladoc, Z-Wave, ZigBee Alliance, iTriage, MivaTek, and the National Sleep Foundation.

Media and organizations supporting the event include Validation Institute, BPI Network, Clinical Innovation + Technology, CoPE, Conference Guru, Disruptive Women in Health Care, EHR Intelligence, FierceHealthCare, FierceHealthIT, FierceMobileHealthcare, FiercePharma, GII, Healthcare Tech Talk, HealthIT Analytics, HealthIT Interoperability, iTelemedicine, Managed Care, mHealth Intelligence, Mind Commerce, PharmaVoice, SFBayEventsList.com, StartUp Health, Story of Digital Health, Telehealth & Telecare Aware, TeleMental Health Institute, The Journal of mHealth, and ZigBee Alliance.

Registration for the Connected Health Summit is open, and media are invited to secure press passes. For more information, visit www.connectedhealthsummit.com. Follow the conference on Twitter at @CONN_Health_Smt and #ConnectedHealth15. To schedule a meeting with an analyst or speaker, contact Holly Sprague at hsprague@gmail.com, 720.987.6614.

About Connected Health Summit

Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers analyzes the roles of connected health technologies and innovations in driving changes in consumer behaviors and business models. The event focuses on four areas of consumer health technologies in particular, which all require active consumer participation to be successful: remote health monitoring for accountable care, consumer-centric wellness and fitness solutions, independent living technologies and services, and innovative convenience care models.

The Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers will take place September 9-10 at the Omni Hotel in San Diego, CA. Follow the event on Twitter at @CONN_Health_Smt. Subscribe to Parks Associates' digital health newsletter at http://www.parksassociates.com/newsletters_subscribe.