If Apple Watch, a Google “smart contact lens”, and IBM Watson are any indication, the tech giants have a significant interest in healthcare. Samsung is no exception. As the largest consumer electronics company in the world, Samsung products touch nearly every aspect of our lives. So it’s no surprise that they’ve sought to make their mark in healthcare as well. Following the AdvaMed Digital MedTech Conference a few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to interview Dr. David Rhew, Chief Medical Officer at Samsung Electronics America and hear how the company’s smartphones, smartwatches, and even TVs and refrigerators can all play a role in the company’s healthcare initiative.
Scott Jung, Medgadget: Tell me about your background and how you ended up at Samsung?
Dr. David Rhew: I’m a physician, technologist, and health services researcher. Throughout my career, I’ve focused on how healthcare providers can deploy technology to improve quality of care, access to care, and patient satisfaction while lowering medical costs. Before Samsung, I mainly approached these questions in inpatient settings – looking at innovative ways to improve electronic health records and clinical decision support systems. In 2013, I joined Samsung Electronics America to lead their healthcare initiative. Samsung is the world’s largest consumer electronics company. As the healthcare industry has started to focus on how every day consumer technologies can improve patient engagement, the company is in a unique position to give consumers a clearer picture of their health and improve health outcomes.
Medgadget: How did Samsung end up entering the healthcare sector?
Rhew: Samsung actually has a long history in healthcare. For several decades now, our medical center in South Korea has been the source for many of our healthcare innovations. It’s a 1200-bed hospital with a comprehensive cancer center, and it remains one of the most innovative, technologically advanced medical facilities in all of East Asia. Because of this history, we know that – like our own health practices – technology doesn’t exist in a vacuum. That’s why we don’t just think about technology in in-patient settings. We think about how consumers can improve health outcomes through the technology they use every day, from smartphones and tablets to refrigerators and TVs. And we’re partnering with leading healthcare companies to create tailored healthcare solutions that combine their devices and tools with our products and services.
Medgadget: During your panel at the AdvaMed Digital MedTech Conference, you mentioned how Samsung is leveraging existing consumer products, namely smartphones and Gear smartwatches, to collect user health data. What consumer device do you think might become the next health sensor?
Rhew: In the near future, all kinds of consumer devices are going to help us engage our health and improve outcomes. To take just one example, IoT (Internet of Things)-enabled devices in the home will soon create safer and healthier environments for seniors and patients with chronic conditions. Soon enough, IoT-enabled sensors will be on all of our home technologies, from TVs to washing machines to refrigerators. For elderly patients, these sensors will connect them to care providers while empowering them to live independently at home. Members of their care network, like family members or healthcare providers, will be able to monitor all sorts of information remotely, from the temperature of the home to the nutritional value of groceries in the fridge – creating a seamless experience that gives seniors more freedom while giving their care networks more peace of mind.
Medgadget: Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) seem to be trending technologies these days. You shared some amazing findings about VR for pain treatment that suggests that it’s as effective as narcotics, but without the side effects, and it has been tested during labor and as an alternative to spinal cord stimulation. What exactly are users seeing and experiencing when they put on the VR headsets that make it so effective? Is Samsung researching any other applications for VR/AR?
Rhew: They’re seeing one of a few different nature scenes, all designed to provide a calm and relaxing experience. Users can choose to fly over a beautiful mountain range or swim in the ocean with aquatic animals like a blue whale. If they want, kids can choose to play video games instead. We already have the data to prove that these experiences are effective, but what we need to do now is quantify the real value of these treatments in a clinical trial setting. Through a randomized clinical trial at Cedars-Sinai, we’re currently measuring the impact of virtual reality on pain, narcotic use, length of stay, time from IV or oral switch, and cost of care. We’re really excited about the potential for these findings. Depending on the results of the study – which we’ll get later this year – we see an opportunity to offer patients a noninvasive, benign treatment that could help patients ease their pain while reducing our national dependence on other, potentially addictive medications like opioids.
Medgadget: For Samsung and medtech in general, what do you envision the next 10 years looking like?
Rhew: Over the next few years, we will continue to see medical technology improving workflow efficiencies and the patient experience within hospital settings. But the biggest innovations will actually happen outside the hospital. Healthcare providers will use digital technologies to help patients monitor health practices and engage in proper treatment and lifestyle changes. For one example, think about mobile devices. Wearables and tablets are already helping consumers get more involved in their health practices. In the near future, those devices won’t just be fitness trackers or calorie counters but active tools for engaging with healthcare professionals and others about your health progress. Or consider IoT-enabled sensors in your home. We’ve already discussed how these sensors will make it easier for caregivers and family members to monitor and coordinate care for seniors and patients with chronic conditions. But these sensors will also make our own lives healthier – telling us if the air has an unusually high level of pollen or pollutants for that day, or if the fridge has too many groceries that are high in saturated fats. In ten years, we will have a much better understanding of our health practices, empowering all of us to improve our health outcomes.
Link: Samsung homepage…