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Virtual Care: The Next Step in the Evolution of Healthcare

Digital transformation provides the perfect storm for companies capable of developing scalable solutions that improve treatment accuracy, availability and affordability.
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The healthcare sector is at the beginning of a major digital transformation as IT infrastructure is modernizing to enable a more flexible and accessible healthcare system. The global healthcare market is forecasted to grow to nearly US$ 11.9 trillion by 2022. Transformative technologies continue to pave the way for a new era of technology-driven, patient-first healthcare solutions.

It’s clear the start of the global pandemic in 2020 shook traditional healthcare systems on a global level. Not only did healthcare institutions require integrated systems to manage the influx of patients and personalized information, but companies needed to keep track of the wellness of their teams as large numbers of physicians and employees switched to remote work environments.

Adopting new technologies to navigate rapidly changing environments has helped medical professionals and wellness experts conduct the work they need to do to save lives and improve treatment. The ongoing pandemic has only served to provide the much-needed catalyst to accelerate these initiatives.

This INNspired article is brought to you by:

WellteQ Digital Health (CSE:WTEQ)(OTCQB:WTEQF) is a digitally driven health and wellness company aiding the transition from old school healthcare navigation to a more personalized data-driven patient experience.Send me an Investor Kit

But, how did we get here? And what does the future hold for disruptive solutions looking to modernize the way we approach healthcare?

A brief history of traditional brick-and-mortar healthcare

The history of healthcare quality before 1960 is a fragmented collection of unrelated events, rather than a streamlined and organized effort. Exponential strides in medical advancement and wellness quality often came from a sense of desperation or essential need seen first-hand by medical professionals. Significant trends and leaps in healthcare came in conjunction with major world events like world wars, epidemics, famine and economic depression.

During the transition to the 21st century, health care systems across the world focused more on policy efforts for improving the quality of healthcare delivered to patients. Seeing the need for a more centralized push for healthcare, international governments worked to create a healthcare system that was more than a series of seemingly unrelated incidents and developments.

Jurisdictions slowly introduced the concept of widespread publicly funded and administered, comprehensive and accessible hospital and medical services. It was the beginning of a shift in mentality — one that saw healthcare viewed as an important, essential service in modern society.

Most importantly, education, access to technology and the introduction of sterilization, innovation and infrastructural improvements led to explosive developments that elevated healthcare through the ages.

Healthcare in the modern digital age

Improved infrastructure, scientific advancement and medical training are the hallmarks of modern-day healthcare.

In low-income countries and regions with limited infrastructure, integration of telecommunications and technology-driven medical applications help to link healthcare providers with specialists, referral hospitals and tertiary care centers. As technologies in wellness accessibility and medical efficiency spread throughout the world, so will the ability to change and save more lives.

For example, widespread adoption of biometric measuring devices, such as equipment monitoring heart rate, blood pressure and blood glucose levels, has increased remote monitoring and managing patients across various chronic illnesses. This adoption of technology-based solutions continues to demonstrate the potential to transform how medical and wellness professionals administer health services as hospitals become overwhelmed with increasing caseloads and influxes of chronically ill patients.

Now more than ever, healthcare is evolving to meet the needs of patients, wherever they are. Geographic restrictions are no longer a barrier to care. Instead, patients can access essential healthcare services using sophisticated telehealth platforms and other applications.

Understanding the digital health revolution

Digital Health is the practice of behavioral health using telecommunications to provide clinical services. The adoption of digital technology has already shown massive potential in improving and aiding healthcare globally.

Digital Health opens up new channels for communication and connects rural and remote regions with healthcare professionals worldwide. Overcoming geographic barriers to medical education and training also has supported healthcare providers in remote areas of the world to serve their own communities or create accessible virtual care for those who otherwise would be unable to obtain it.

Increasing availability and utilization of Information Communication Technology or ICTs by the general population have been the biggest drivers of virtual care over the past decade. Here, ICTs in digital health and wellness hold excellent potential for reducing the variability of diagnoses of traditional analog methods and improving clinical management and delivery of healthcare services worldwide by enhancing access, quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Major players in the virtual care space

There is no denying how rapidly digital health is evolving. Current estimates suggest that there are between 10,000-20,000 mental health apps on the market. In 2019, analysts estimated the digital health and wellness service market was worth US$84.08 billion. Given the global pandemic, this valuation could increase by up to 28.5 percent by 2026. Notable leaders in the space expect to advance these metrics as they continue to innovate digital health and wellness for the modern world.

Teladoc Health (NYSE:TDOC) is an integrated virtual care system for delivering whole-person health to tackle wellness and prevention of complex healthcare needs. The Company is the combination of a telehealth provider and a virtual care provider that merged in 2020 through Teladoc’s US$18.5 billion acquisition of Livongo.

In the early months of 2020, Teledoc saw an increase of 92 percent in total visits in response to the spike in COVID-19 cases worldwide. In the same period, their U.S. subscription base jumped from 27 million users in 2019 to 43 million the following year, a positive trend that reflects the growth of the entire telehealth market.

Babylon Health is a digital-first health service provider and value-based care company that combines an artificial intelligence powered platform with virtual clinical operations. Patients are connected with doctors and health care professionals through its web and mobile application.

Babylon’s subscription business model for private healthcare services was launched in the UK in 2013. They have since expanded internationally to Canada, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia and the United States. They also provide services in Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The company covers over 24 million people globally and provides over 5,000 virtual care consultations per day.

On June 3, 2021, Babylon announced it has agreed to go public in the United States through a merger with a blank-check firm led by former Groupon chief Rich Williams, at a pro-forma equity valuation of $4.2 billion. The deal with Alkuri Global Acquisition Corp. will provide up to $575 million in gross proceeds to Babylon, including a $230 million private placement from investors such as AMF Pensionsförsäkring and Palantir Technologies Inc.

Telehealth is the first step in the digital health transformation. Online doctor-patient connectivity enables the delivery of services beyond traditional brick-and-mortar healthcare but is not scalable digital health because it’s still human centric.

Wellteq Digital Health is a leader in digitally-driven health and wellness, aiding the transition from traditional healthcare navigation to a more personalized, data-driven and full-range patient experience. Wellteq is a Digital Health Platform that provides a complete continuum of personalized care from preventative wellness to virtual healthcare paid for by employers, insurers and healthcare providers.

Through AI-based analytics solutions and Internet of Medical Things devices, the company helps employers, insurance companies and healthcare providers take control of health and wellness and overcome accessibility issues around digital health. Wellteq is a globally scalable digital health platform that provides continuous user connectivity and data capture while its algorithms deliver personalised coaching, Currently, Wellteq solutions are changing the behaviours and health profiles of users in over 30 countries and 12 languages.

Since 2017, Wellteq has partnered with Garmin to deliver wearable biotech that incorporates an advanced wellness portal and analytic solutions. The company boasts several highly strategic partnerships with healthtech companies to advance its mission for scaling digital health and virtual care through 2021 and beyond.

Wellteq offers a revolutionary health and wellness platform, which uses data sources from mobile phones, wearable tech and medical devices to create user personalised profiles for risk assessment and coaching supportive lifestyle behaviors – population based preventive healthcare. This software-hardware hybrid for virtual care helps address the high demand for personalized and value-added digital health management and user engagement.

Investing in the future of healthcare

The digital health movement extends well past the COVID-19 pandemic. As an example, analysts estimate the global telehealth market size will reach US$559.52 billion by 2027..

Takeaway

Digital transformation takes time and the shift from traditional analog technology to more advanced digitally-driven medical innovations is only the beginning of the next wave of healthcare innovation. The combination of aging healthcare systems (and technology), rapid digital transformations and the rise of technology-savvy patients provides the perfect storm for companies capable of developing scalable solutions that improve treatment accuracy, availability and affordability — which is exactly what Wellteq, Teladoc and Babylon offer.

This INNSpired article is sponsored by WellteQ Digital Health (CSE:WTEQ,OTCQB:WTEQF). This INNSpired article provides information which was sourced by the Investing News Network (INN) and approved by WellteQ Digital Health in order to help investors learn more about the company. WellteQ Digital Health is a client of INN. The company’s campaign fees pay for INN to create and update this INNSpired article.

INN does not provide investment advice and the information on this profile should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. INN does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company profiled.

The information contained here is for information purposes only and is not to be construed as an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of securities. Readers should conduct their own research for all information publicly available concerning the company. Prior to making any investment decision, it is recommended that readers consult directly with WellteQ Digital Health and seek advice from a qualified investment advisor.

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The post Virtual Care: The Next Step in the Evolution of Healthcare appeared first on Investing News Network.

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Analyst reviews Apple stock price target amid challenges

Here’s what could happen to Apple shares next.

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6 hours ago

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March 12, 2024

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They said it was bound to happen.

It was Jan. 11, 2024 when software giant Microsoft  (MSFT)  briefly passed Apple  (AAPL)  as the most valuable company in the world.

Microsoft's stock closed 0.5% higher, giving it a market valuation of $2.859 trillion. 

It rose as much as 2% during the session and the company was briefly worth $2.903 trillion. Apple closed 0.3% lower, giving the company a market capitalization of $2.886 trillion. 

"It was inevitable that Microsoft would overtake Apple since Microsoft is growing faster and has more to benefit from the generative AI revolution," D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria said at the time, according to Reuters.

The two tech titans have jostled for top spot over the years and Microsoft was ahead at last check, with a market cap of $3.085 trillion, compared with Apple's value of $2.684 trillion.

Analysts noted that Apple had been dealing with weakening demand, including for the iPhone, the company’s main source of revenue. 

Demand in China, a major market, has slumped as the country's economy makes a slow recovery from the pandemic and competition from Huawei.

Sales in China of Apple's iPhone fell by 24% in the first six weeks of 2024 compared with a year earlier, according to research firm Counterpoint, as the company contended with stiff competition from a resurgent Huawei "while getting squeezed in the middle on aggressive pricing from the likes of OPPO, vivo and Xiaomi," said senior Analyst Mengmeng Zhang.

“Although the iPhone 15 is a great device, it has no significant upgrades from the previous version, so consumers feel fine holding on to the older-generation iPhones for now," he said.

A man scrolling through Netflix on an Apple iPad Pro. Photo by Phil Barker/Future Publishing via Getty Images.

Future Publishing/Getty Images

Big plans for China

Counterpoint said that the first six weeks of 2023 saw abnormally high numbers with significant unit sales being deferred from December 2022 due to production issues.

Apple is planning to open its eighth store in Shanghai – and its 47th across China – on March 21.

Related: Tech News Now: OpenAI says Musk contract 'never existed', Xiaomi's EV, and more

The company also plans to expand its research centre in Shanghai to support all of its product lines and open a new lab in southern tech hub Shenzhen later this year, according to the South China Morning Post.

Meanwhile, over in Europe, Apple announced changes to comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which went into effect last week, Reuters reported on March 12.

Beginning this spring, software developers operating in Europe will be able to distribute apps to EU customers directly from their own websites instead of through the App Store.

"To reflect the DMA’s changes, users in the EU can install apps from alternative app marketplaces in iOS 17.4 and later," Apple said on its website, referring to the software platform that runs iPhones and iPads. 

"Users will be able to download an alternative marketplace app from the marketplace developer’s website," the company said.

Apple has also said it will appeal a $2 billion EU antitrust fine for thwarting competition from Spotify  (SPOT)  and other music streaming rivals via restrictions on the App Store.

The company's shares have suffered amid all this upheaval, but some analysts still see good things in Apple's future.

Bank of America Securities confirmed its positive stance on Apple, maintaining a buy rating with a steady price target of $225, according to Investing.com. 

The firm's analysis highlighted Apple's pricing strategy evolution since the introduction of the first iPhone in 2007, with initial prices set at $499 for the 4GB model and $599 for the 8GB model.

BofA said that Apple has consistently launched new iPhone models, including the Pro/Pro Max versions, to target the premium market. 

Analyst says Apple selloff 'overdone'

Concurrently, prices for previous models are typically reduced by about $100 with each new release. 

This strategy, coupled with installment plans from Apple and carriers, has contributed to the iPhone's installed base reaching a record 1.2 billion in 2023, the firm said.

More Tech Stocks:

Apple has effectively shifted its sales mix toward higher-value units despite experiencing slower unit sales, BofA said.

This trend is expected to persist and could help mitigate potential unit sales weaknesses, particularly in China. 

BofA also noted Apple's dominance in the high-end market, maintaining a market share of over 90% in the $1,000 and above price band for the past three years.

The firm also cited the anticipation of a multi-year iPhone cycle propelled by next-generation AI technology, robust services growth, and the potential for margin expansion.

On Monday, Evercore ISI analysts said they believed that the sell-off in the iPhone maker’s shares may be “overdone.”

The firm said that investors' growing preference for AI-focused stocks like Nvidia  (NVDA)  has led to a reallocation of funds away from Apple. 

In addition, Evercore said concerns over weakening demand in China, where Apple may be losing market share in the smartphone segment, have affected investor sentiment.

And then ongoing regulatory issues continue to have an impact on investor confidence in the world's second-biggest company.

“We think the sell-off is rather overdone, while we suspect there is strong valuation support at current levels to down 10%, there are three distinct drivers that could unlock upside on the stock from here – a) Cap allocation, b) AI inferencing, and c) Risk-off/defensive shift," the firm said in a research note.

Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024

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Major typhoid fever surveillance study in sub-Saharan Africa indicates need for the introduction of typhoid conjugate vaccines in endemic countries

There is a high burden of typhoid fever in sub-Saharan African countries, according to a new study published today in The Lancet Global Health. This high…

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There is a high burden of typhoid fever in sub-Saharan African countries, according to a new study published today in The Lancet Global Health. This high burden combined with the threat of typhoid strains resistant to antibiotic treatment calls for stronger prevention strategies, including the use and implementation of typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs) in endemic settings along with improvements in access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.

Credit: IVI

There is a high burden of typhoid fever in sub-Saharan African countries, according to a new study published today in The Lancet Global Health. This high burden combined with the threat of typhoid strains resistant to antibiotic treatment calls for stronger prevention strategies, including the use and implementation of typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs) in endemic settings along with improvements in access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.

 

The findings from this 4-year study, the Severe Typhoid in Africa (SETA) program, offers new typhoid fever burden estimates from six countries: Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, and Nigeria, with four countries recording more than 100 cases for every 100,000 person-years of observation, which is considered a high burden. The highest incidence of typhoid was found in DRC with 315 cases per 100,000 people while children between 2-14 years of age were shown to be at highest risk across all 25 study sites.

 

There are an estimated 12.5 to 16.3 million cases of typhoid every year with 140,000 deaths. However, with generic symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and abdominal pain, and the need for blood culture sampling to make a definitive diagnosis, it is difficult for governments to capture the true burden of typhoid in their countries.

 

“Our goal through SETA was to address these gaps in typhoid disease burden data,” said lead author Dr. Florian Marks, Deputy Director General of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI). “Our estimates indicate that introduction of TCV in endemic settings would go to lengths in protecting communities, especially school-aged children, against this potentially deadly—but preventable—disease.”

 

In addition to disease incidence, this study also showed that the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Salmonella Typhi, the bacteria that causes typhoid fever, has led to more reliance beyond the traditional first line of antibiotic treatment. If left untreated, severe cases of the disease can lead to intestinal perforation and even death. This suggests that prevention through vaccination may play a critical role in not only protecting against typhoid fever but reducing the spread of drug-resistant strains of the bacteria.

 

There are two TCVs prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and available through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. In February 2024, IVI and SK bioscience announced that a third TCV, SKYTyphoid™, also achieved WHO PQ, paving the way for public procurement and increasing the global supply.

 

Alongside the SETA disease burden study, IVI has been working with colleagues in three African countries to show the real-world impact of TCV vaccination. These studies include a cluster-randomized trial in Agogo, Ghana and two effectiveness studies following mass vaccination in Kisantu, DRC and Imerintsiatosika, Madagascar.

 

Dr. Birkneh Tilahun Tadesse, Associate Director General at IVI and Head of the Real-World Evidence Department, explains, “Through these vaccine effectiveness studies, we aim to show the full public health value of TCV in settings that are directly impacted by a high burden of typhoid fever.” He adds, “Our final objective of course is to eliminate typhoid or to at least reduce the burden to low incidence levels, and that’s what we are attempting in Fiji with an island-wide vaccination campaign.”

 

As more countries in typhoid endemic countries, namely in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, consider TCV in national immunization programs, these data will help inform evidence-based policy decisions around typhoid prevention and control.

 

###

 

About the International Vaccine Institute (IVI)
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is a non-profit international organization established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme with a mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health.

IVI’s current portfolio includes vaccines at all stages of pre-clinical and clinical development for infectious diseases that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries, such as cholera, typhoid, chikungunya, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, hepatitis E, HPV, COVID-19, and more. IVI developed the world’s first low-cost oral cholera vaccine, pre-qualified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and developed a new-generation typhoid conjugate vaccine that is recently pre-qualified by WHO.

IVI is headquartered in Seoul, Republic of Korea with a Europe Regional Office in Sweden, a Country Office in Austria, and Collaborating Centers in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Madagascar. 39 countries and the WHO are members of IVI, and the governments of the Republic of Korea, Sweden, India, Finland, and Thailand provide state funding. For more information, please visit https://www.ivi.int.

 

CONTACT

Aerie Em, Global Communications & Advocacy Manager
+82 2 881 1386 | aerie.em@ivi.int

Journal

The Lancet Global Health

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Incidence of typhoid fever in Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, and Nigeria (the Severe Typhoid in Africa programme): a population-based study

Article Publication Date

12-Mar-2024

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US Spent More Than Double What It Collected In February, As 2024 Deficit Is Second Highest Ever… And Debt Explodes

US Spent More Than Double What It Collected In February, As 2024 Deficit Is Second Highest Ever… And Debt Explodes

Earlier today, CNBC’s…

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US Spent More Than Double What It Collected In February, As 2024 Deficit Is Second Highest Ever... And Debt Explodes

Earlier today, CNBC's Brian Sullivan took a horse dose of Red Pills when, about six months after our readers, he learned that the US is issuing $1 trillion in debt every 100 days, which prompted him to rage tweet, (or rageX, not sure what the proper term is here) the following:

We’ve added 60% to national debt since 2018. Germany - a country with major economic woes - added ‘just’ 32%.   

Maybe it will never matter.   Maybe MMT is real.   Maybe we just cancel or inflate it out. Maybe career real estate borrowers or career politicians aren’t the answer.

I have no idea.  Only time will tell.   But it’s going to be fascinating to watch it play out.

He is right: it will be fascinating, and the latest budget deficit data simply confirmed that the day of reckoning will come very soon, certainly sooner than the two years that One River's Eric Peters predicted this weekend for the coming "US debt sustainability crisis."

According to the US Treasury, in February, the US collected $271 billion in various tax receipts, and spent $567 billion, more than double what it collected.

The two charts below show the divergence in US tax receipts which have flatlined (on a trailing 6M basis) since the covid pandemic in 2020 (with occasional stimmy-driven surges)...

... and spending which is about 50% higher compared to where it was in 2020.

The end result is that in February, the budget deficit rose to $296.3 billion, up 12.9% from a year prior, and the second highest February deficit on record.

And the punchline: on a cumulative basis, the budget deficit in fiscal 2024 which began on October 1, 2023 is now $828 billion, the second largest cumulative deficit through February on record, surpassed only by the peak covid year of 2021.

But wait there's more: because in a world where the US is spending more than twice what it is collecting, the endgame is clear: debt collapse, and while it won't be tomorrow, or the week after, it is coming... and it's also why the US is now selling $1 trillion in debt every 100 days just to keep operating (and absorbing all those millions of illegal immigrants who will keep voting democrat to preserve the socialist system of the US, so beloved by the Soros clan).

And it gets even worse, because we are now in the ponzi finance stage of the Minsky cycle, with total interest on the debt annualizing well above $1 trillion, and rising every day

... having already surpassed total US defense spending and soon to surpass total health spending and, finally all social security spending, the largest spending category of all, which means that US debt will now rise exponentially higher until the inevitable moment when the US dollar loses its reserve status and it all comes crashing down.

We conclude with another observation by CNBC's Brian Sullivan, who quotes an email by a DC strategist...

.. which lays out the proposed Biden budget as follows:

The budget deficit will growth another $16 TRILLION over next 10 years. Thats *with* the proposed massive tax hikes.

Without them the deficit will grow $19 trillion.

That's why you will hear the "deficit is being reduced by $3 trillion" over the decade.

No family budget or business could exist with this kind of math.

Of course, in the long run, neither can the US... and since neither party will ever cut the spending which everyone by now is so addicted to, the best anyone can do is start planning for the endgame.

Tyler Durden Tue, 03/12/2024 - 18:40

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