Introduction

Healthcare technologies are evolving in at least two remarkable ways: 1) distilling medical information and resources for medical professionals; 2) reinventing the customer (hereinafter referred to as “user”) experience.  The second category, sitting on top of the social layer, describes companies and initiatives who aim to cement closer relationships between healthcare providers and their patients.  To accomplish these goals, emerging companies can exploit three categories of trending fields: behavioral economics, data addiction, and mobile healthcare.

The booms of the social network and IT industry have sparked unimaginable thought leadership as businesses race to define the “social layer.”  In the 2000’s, Facebook, Google, and Apple were among multiple companies that innovated the virtual social world, which subsequently bled into how users and information interact in real life.   The “social layer” sets the stage for rebirths of other industries, such as healthcare, energy, and education.

Innovative insurance companies, startups and healthcare providers are aligning these three three “lenses” to contribute to new healthcare technologies.