Oral Presentation Australian Diabetes Society and the Australian Diabetes Educators Association Annual Scientific Meeting 2016

Digital Health:  Empowering Your Future Self? (#28)

Christopher Kommatas 1 2
  1. Executive Director, LanewayLabs, Melbourne
  2. Founder, StartUp HealthTech Australia , Melbourne

Dramatic changes are taking place in the demographic structure of Australia and other countries An explosion in the segment of the population that will be over the age of 65 peaks in 2030, and the fastest growing cohort within this subgroup will be people over 75. With these changes, the health care system faces ever-growing costs, and a good portion of that is devoted to caring for patients with chronic health conditions like diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.
Simultaneously, we are witnessing unprecedented development and technology diffusion into all aspects of everyday life. Currently, all forms of technology, including computers, communications, safety, and health-monitoring devices, are being used to perform routine tasks and activities.
Digital Health & other intelligent technologies will also increasingly become embedded in our interactions with the environment, and autonomous systems performing daily tasks will be commonplace. Individuals of all ages will interact with some form of technology to function independently and engage effectively in their surroundings.
According to a 2015 AusBiotech report, “digital health and remote patient monitoring devices have the fastest­ growing revenue of any medical device sector. The mobile health technology market is expected to exceed $8 billion in 2018 globally, compared to $500 million in 2010.” Emerging programs across Australia are demonstrating the growth potential in the emerging digital health sector.
This presentation will explore the current global digital health ecosystem, reviewing current trends in VC/Investor funding including a focus on those 50+ technology solutions and services. HealthTech Innovators from large corporates to early stage startups, disrupting the sector will be explored. The Australian digital health market, the key stakeholders, and the opportunities and challenges that will drive the overall economic impact of our ‘future self’ will also be key topic of discussion.