Prior to Parks Associates’ sixth-annual Connected Health Summit: Independent Living and Wellness, Mark Smith, Senior Vice President of Emerging Products UnitedHealthcare shared his thoughts on the connected health market with the firm's analyst team.

Mark will participate as a keynote speaker on Thursday, August 29 at 9:30 AM. He will discuss how can consumers, companies and other stakeholders harness the power of connected devices to help improve health and more effectively curb costs in his presentation, “Movement as Medicine: Innovation and Wearable Device Walking Programs.” Other keynote speakers include CirrusMD, GreatCall, Livongo, and Philips.

What features of wellness and fitness apps are in highest use? Which are in highest demand?

Wearables, fitness apps and other connected devices offer significant value to consumers on their journeys toward health, but this type of technology is best viewed as an enabling solution instead of the answer in and of itself. By coupling health and well-being technology with additional guidance, support and, ideally, incentives, emerging programs are proving effective in helping drive sustained, positive behavior change among consumers of various ages, backgrounds and fitness levels.

Further Reading:

• Smart Home Platforms for Health
• 15% of US broadband households have a connected fitness tracker and 11% have a smart watch
• Wearables Driving Growth for Connected Health Market