| | | | | |  | | By Alexandra S. Levine | | | | TECH THE HALLS: Who needs diamond earrings for the holidays when you could get a shiny new pulse oximeter? Instead of a yuletide-scented candle to set the mood, why not try a disinfectant fog machine? And just because you can't unwind at the spa, doesn't mean you can't indulge your iPhone in some R&R — via a UV light sanitizing pouch that looks like a cross between a miniature tanning bed and a tiny spaceship. As Americans prepare for the holidays, some with germ-zapping lightsaber-like wands in hand, they're stuffing their stockings with health tech gadgetry aimed at keeping their spaces safe, or at least offering peace of mind, amid a darkening pandemic. | 
Sharper Image | Personal purification: Beyond the usual hot gifts (read: anything with a screen), "healthy home technologies" have climbed to the top of end-of-year wish lists. That's everything from robotic vacuum cleaners and smart doorbells to high-tech air purifiers, advanced water filtration systems and UV sanitizing solutions — which until now have been used primarily in commercial settings like hospitals and airplanes. "The pandemic has really stimulated innovation, and certainly consumer interest, in a lot of these technologies that basically help maintain a healthy, and presumably happy, household," said Steve Koenig, vice president of research at the Consumer Technology Association, which has identified a market of about 64 million U.S. adults leaning into these products focused on home cleanliness and personal care. Has anyone tried that personal air purifier you can wear like a necklace to create a halo of clean air around your face and fight viruses (or so it claims)? Economy down, tech up: Target recently saw its best quarter ever. Best Buy, its strongest in 25 years . Amazon has been a lifeline for millions during the pandemic, and CEO Jeff Bezos sees "an unprecedented holiday season." Peloton's at-home fitness bikes, which start around $2,000, can't ship fast enough. "It's just shockingly ironic, that [in] this period of economic downturn, tech has actually benefited massively," Koenig said. Government taking note: Members of Congress, consumer protection officials at the Federal Trade Commission and health experts have been warning since the early days of the outbreak about product scams and the dangers of tech over-promising, under-delivering and creating a false sense of security for buyers. The FTC has been sending warning letters to companies advertising products that purport to prevent or treat Covid-19 — in apparent violation of the FTC Act, which requires health-related claims to be backed up by scientific evidence. (Many of these products are also regulated by the EPA or the FDA, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission has put out guidance on staying safe as families head indoors.) Dealing with these kinds of specific coronavirus health claims is "actually fairly easy," Richard Cleland, who sits in the FTC's bureau of consumer protection, told Future Pulse. The science and published literature just doesn't back them up. Questioning claims: It's harder to crack down on tech devices marketed with mushier, more ambiguous language about how a product can promote health or how effective it is. Cleland said high-tech air purifiers or water filtration systems, for example, could demand a lengthy, complex investigation digging into the science to see whether such claims can be substantiated. Perhaps "they're not making a Covid claim, but they may be making the claim that this air purifier will kill 99.9 percent of the airborne germs in your house," said Cleland, the assistant director for the FTC's division of advertising practices. "That's a claim that consumers would take seriously, and it's also a claim that consumers have no way on their own of being able to evaluate; they can't test it to make sure that 99.9 percent of germs have been eliminated," he added. "That's where we would have concerns." Food for thought as you weigh whether to splurge on that UV light that promises to sanitize the kitchen counter where you're building your gingerbread house. Welcome back to Future Pulse, where we explore the convergence of health care and technology. Share your news and feedback: @dariustahir, @ravindranize, @ali_lev, @katymurphy. | | | | STAY UP TO SPEED ON THE PEOPLE AND POLITICS DRIVING GLOBAL HEALTH: The global pandemic has revealed just how critical it is to keep up with the politics, policy and people driving global health. Will America reclaim its leadership on the worldwide health stage as the Biden administration assumes power in 2021? What will the global distribution of a Covid-19 vaccine look like? Which counties and people will be prioritized? Our Global Pulse newsletter connects leaders, policymakers and advocates to the politics impacting our global health. Join the conversation and subscribe today. | | | | | | | | hallowrina @anotherbadpoem: My favorite telehealth appointments are those where the doctor cancels one minute before the appointment | | | WEARABLES SHOW PROMISE IN COVID-DETECTION: High-tech gadgets like the temperature-tracking Oura Ring could detect Covid-19 symptoms like fevers before the wearer does, according to the first tranche of peer-reviewed data from a massive University of California San Francisco-led study on wearables. To be sure, the data from the 65,000-person study is limited so far. But in the first analysis of 50 participants, a retroactive analysis found that the rings accurately detected the onset of temperature elevations in people reporting Covid-19 symptoms. "What we've shown is for the very first time you can have a totally passive system do a good job of detecting fevers," corresponding author Benjamin Smarr told POLITICO's Mohana Ravindranath. | 
Oura | UCSF's TemPredict study is ongoing, but some groups are already incorporating wearables into their response strategy. Most notably, the NBA was testing whether the devices could help keep coronavirus from spreading inside its bubble in Orlando this summer. Smarr also said the consumer devices are also showing promise in detecting elevated temperatures that the wearers themselves haven't reported, which could help clarify whether asymptomatic patients truly exhibit no symptoms, or whether they're so subtle that they go unnoticed. Wearables like Oura that take continuous measurements are also potentially more useful than taking a person's temperature during a single point in time, UCSF study author Ashley Mason said in a statement on the results. "People go in and out of fever, and a temperature that is clearly elevated for one person may not be a major aberration for another person," she said. "Continual temperature information can better identify fever." Smarr noted that study participants were largely enthusiastic about wearing the devices and sharing their data, but that some groups are still wary of potential surveillance. And Oura Rings, which retail for $300, aren't affordable for everyone. "We need to make sure whatever we're building is not just serving rich people in Silicon Valley," he said. "That is a major social challenge, much more than the science." SLAVING OVER DATA: U.S. physicians spend almost 53 percent more time a day working with electronic health records than their counterparts abroad, according to new findings in JAMA Internal Medicine that reinforce long-standing concerns about automation taking precedence over patients and leading to doctor burnout. The study across 371 health systems suggests the burden arises less from the technology than from documentation requirements and other issues that policymakers and health systems can address. It found big discrepancies in areas like note-taking, placing orders, sifting through in boxes and doing clinical reviews. In all, U.S. clinicians spent a median 90.2 minutes each day actively using the EHR compared to 59.1 minutes for non-U.S. doctors. And they spent more time logged in after hours. QUESTIONS FOR OMADA HEALTH'S LEADERSHIP TEAM: Omada started in 2011 with diabetes prevention and a virtual weight loss coaching service for people at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. It's since branched out into behavioral health and physical therapy, among other services. That's given Omada nearly a decade of insight into the regulatory and business challenges of providing care from afar. We spoke with Sean Duffy, the company's CEO; Lucia Savage, the chief regulatory and privacy officer; and Adam Brickman, the senior director of strategic communication and public policy. Our conversation was edited for length and clarity. Sean, what have you been seeing this year and what do you think that means for the future? Sean Duffy: Relative to the past, and relative to Covid, we've undergone a transformational year in the mindframe of care. That's important. I can't tell you the number of times five years ago, when I'd be talking to a payer, saying, think of us like a digital care provider – providers don't have to have walls, and offices. That conversation's not happening anymore. Which I think is a beautiful thing for health care innovation. And with all the difficulty and tragedy of Covid, I hope the silver lining results in a transformed system. | 
Omada | There've been a lot of discussions on privacy fears, particularly with some of the aggressive moves to look into more types of data – like cellphone and location data in places like South Korea. Lucia, do you think we're likely to see discussions about re-regulating privacy this year? Lucia Savage: HIPAA regulations turn 20 on Dec. 28, so happy birthday, HIPAA. In America, the big challenge is going to be the data that is outside of HIPAA. That remains very politically contentious but ever more important for health care. … We need to give consumers confidence that wherever data about their health is collected, it's being collected fairly, transparently, and according to fair use. That is part of the big, nationwide discussion for privacy law that you know has been stuck on a couple of significant issues, primarily preemption [of state privacy laws.] Those are political issues that need to be solved. But I do think we have to fortify consumer trust in how we're using digital health if we're really going to take advantage of the technology – whether it's contact tracing or diabetes, at-home dialysis, robots that are helping you with your health care, eventually self-driving cars taking you to the doctor's office, all of that. Anything you're seeing on policy, Adam? Adam Brickman: What we are most excited about …you look at the transition team Biden's put together, the priorities – one through one hundred are coronavirus, first. But you look at the folks they're bringing together, you have folks who have that technology background, that public health background. Anything else on the incoming administration? Lucia Savage: The president-elect himself has a pretty deep understanding and kind of a passion for the power of information because of Beau. Famously fought with Judy Faulkner [founder and CEO of health records giant Epic.]. Big advocate of digital health to be married with genomic health, sort of precision medicine and the cancer moonshot. I think he's well grounded in this space. | | | | NEW EPISODES OF THE GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS PODCAST: Our Global Translations podcast, presented by Citi, examines the long-term costs of the short-term thinking that drives many political and business decisions. The world has long been beset by big problems that defy political boundaries, and these issues have exploded over the past year amid a global pandemic. This podcast helps us identify and understand the impediments to smart policymaking. Subscribe for Season Two, available now. | | | | | | | | FIRST OTC, AT-HOME COVID TEST WINS FDA BACKING: An over-the-counter coronavirus test developed with $30 million in NIH funding could soon allow people to get near-instant results at home and quarantine quickly after becoming infectious. The FDA on Tuesday authorized the 20-minute nasal swab test from Australia-based manufacturer Ellume for use by people 16 or older and children over the age of two when a sample is collected by an adult. Public health officials like former FDA Commission Scott Gottlieb think the test — and others like it that may soon get authorized — could become a widely used tool for reopening schools and workplaces. POLITICO's David Lim writes the test's results are delivered through a smartphone app after patients enter their ZIP code and date of birth. The app also sends results to health departments, addressing concerns that at-home tests could obscure data on virus spread without a reliable reporting mechanism. The FDA had already authorized an at-home test, but that one from Lucira Health requires a prescription. Ellume CEO Sean Parsons previously told POLITICO his company expects to price its test at about $30. Plans call for shipping 20 million to the U.S. in the first half of 2021. | | | We were supposed to have gotten cheaper, innovative hearing aids by now. Where are they, asks the New York Times? Nature gives a comparative look at the countries that are successfully contact-tracing…and the countries that aren't. A look at what's next for tech in pharmacy from erstwhile-journalist, now-investor Christina Farr. | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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