LifeComm – All Vital Signs Positive for Health-Based MVNO Service?
Qualcomm is backing a health-based MVNO called LifeComm which will is set to be launched some time in September (link to post on Engadget Mobile).
There’s tons of exciting work being done using mobiles to tackle health-related problems in thedeveloping world (Technology, Health and Development is a great resource for news on this), but there are plenty of people right here in the ‘developed’ USA who could benefit from a mobile device and companion service that provided real-time monitoring and instant access to information 
or health-care providers. There is certainly a market for such offerings, and given the collective health of our population, unfortunately, it’s not only the aging baby boomers who stand to benefit. For example, the GlucoPhone (shown here), developed by HealthPia America at least a year ago, incorporates a blood glucose meter on top of an LG 5200 chassis, and provides the ability to transmit information in real time to an online database or via SMS to a recipient of the user’s choice. I’m not sure if/when it actually shipped, as I’ve never seen one in the wild.
An MVNO implies some kind of ecosystem which includes custom hardware, software, and a service component, all working together to provide an optimized experience to the user, be it in 
social networking, music, or health. Given the high mortality rate for MVNO’s, I hope this can manage to work out a successful business model. It will be interesting to seehow they marry hardware + software + service to deliver what cannot be delivered solely by a third party iPhone app (i.e.software only), a glucometer (i.e. hardware only) or a direct line to your physicial (i.e. service only). I’m especially excited to see the potential for gaming here (a la GlucoBoy), with ubiquitous access to one’s health information via a mobile device creating heretofore unexplored, casual (and fun!) touchpoints with one’s health.
Another thing that’s somewhat disconcerting in all this is the implications for personal privacy and the extent to which I may lose control over my health-related data. If my device is connected all the time, and it knows about where I am, what my blood pressure or heart rate is, or what my blood sugar levels are, I want to be unequivocally sure that this data isn’t silently being uploaded to some server somewhere, where it can come back to haunt me when it comes time to file a claim with my insurance company! Are there going to be any dodgy clauses lurking in some dark corner of my LifeComm EULA that compromises my exclusive ownership of my health data?
(”Well, in retrospect, Mr. Greenblatt, it looks like you should have opted for the small order of french fries at Epic Burger last week. Given your existing condition and your recent behavior, insurance won’t cover this bypass surgery. So how would you like to pay? Cash, credit or should I just add this on to your next LifeComm bill?“)
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August 14th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Thanks for your very interesting blog Dan,
Whilst you could look at this negatively eg. “Given your existing condition and your recent behavior, insurance won’t cover this…”
Try to think about it the other way. You (and your family) can’t get affordable health insurance. Run this phone and because the insurer can now see you’re a proactive person who is determined to play an active part in maintaining a healthy lifestyle they’ll give you a more affordable rate as your risks are lower.
Another good example might be – you’re the CEO of a $1 Billion company. Shareholders want you to use a mobile that will report to you and your physician if you’re about to suffer a heart attack BEFORE it happens.
It’s not that far off either infact the second example is already a day-to-day reality for some (see cardionet.com).
August 15th, 2008 at 1:45 am
Hi David -
Though I’ve fortunately not experienced any insurance horror stories first hand, I am distrustful (perhaps unjustly so
) of their practices. But your absolutely right – this could go the opposite direction, and I hope it does. It’s become clear that a given amount of money goes a lot farther towards disease prevention than it does towards disease treatment, so it’s unsurprising that many companies currently have financial incentives for their employees to exercise on a regular basis. As you point out though, it would make sense that a technology which makes capture and reporting easier (on both the employee and the employer) would be well-received.
The Cardionet product is compelling. I think the real challenge will be successfully integrating multiple sensor types into a single device that has minimum impact on the patient’s lifestyle, and which is robust enough to require no patient management and could be debugged/administered remotely.
Thanks for the comment!
August 15th, 2008 at 4:34 am
The real challenge is exactly as you’ve described – hence the work we and others are doing with RFID/NFC technology on mobile devices which are already in the market.
For a look to the future check out fullpower.com – these are the guys working to introduce a variety of sensor technologies into the single Mobile Health device but it’s still a few life cycles away.
October 3rd, 2008 at 2:24 am
you guys are absolutely right! this could go in opposite direction..