Location Based Services and RFID Help Hospitals Save Money

The words location based services (LBS) immediately brings to mind mobile marketing apps and other location based sales and marketing services based upon GPS coordinates.  If we have an enterprise IT perspective we may think of fleet management, asset management and equipment tracking.  The technologies and strategies behind these technologies, however, are not limited to rugged outdoor, blue collar environments.  They have now also moved into sterile indoor environments.  Let's review a few of these use cases documented by Caleb Benedict, Research Analyst, GIS/IoT.

The use of LBS (location based services) in the healthcare industry is growing rapidly. It is being used to save time, money, and reduce liabilities. Earlier this week an article was published by Pharmabiz.com that described how Tyco Security is providing Indian Hospitals with RFID services to track patients, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals (http://bit.ly/PAIJvP).  Along with knowing patient locations, these solutions allow hospitals to track and maintain security over expensive equipment, and to closely monitor prescription drugs to limit dangerous mistakes.

A recent report by Research and Markets predicts the healthcare RFID market will grow at a CAGR of 35 percent through 2017. As this forecast demonstrates, RFID technology continues to gain traction in the healthcare industry proving that it has moved beyond its roots tracking cargo containers and freight (http://bit.ly/PAIJvP).

LBS technologies are also on the rise.  Markets and Markets reports that the location based services market will grow at a CAGR of 25 percent annually through 2019 and the market will be valued at $39 billion. They also report that the largest portion of LBS growth will come from the healthcare asset management sector. LBS solutions help hospitals monitor patients locations and track ambulances as they respond to emergencies and deliver patients (http://bit.ly/1l7gV10).

It is our analysis, based on a review of publicly available data, that the healthcare industry will continue to adopt these technologies as they are proving to save money, reduce loss and limit liabilities. These solutions, along with GIS applications in healthcare, illustrate the huge potential the industry has in applying location and tracking technologies in everyday hospital operations.
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Kevin Benedict
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Insurance Industry Disrupted, The Quantified-Self - Wearables, Telematics, Code Halos and Digital Transformation

By Peter Abatan, Studio Thirteen, Cognizant

The New Finance Meet-up group is currently running a 6 part series over a period of 6 months to determine what could disrupt the Insurance industry. In the most recent meet-up the focus was on how the quantified-self could disrupt the insurance industry. I came away from the meet-up with the conclusion that smart insurers will begin to develop products that are more customizable to the individual needs rather than offering products desiged on demographics, i.e. where you live, your age group, family size etc.

So what is the quantified-self? The quantified-self is the data that has been accumulated on the individual’s behavior, health status, medical conditions and overall well-being by the individual themselves (We call this data Code Halos at Cognizant). In the future many experts believe that it will be the basis on which insurance products are sold to customers.

There is still a lot of controversy around ownership of data and whether once that data has been released to an insurer whether it can be withdrawn, and whether an adverse event could impact or prevent an individual from being able to buy an insurance product. However, many experts have come to the conclusion, that smart insurers would use this adverse data to help customers to manage that event better rather than use it as an opportunity to charge very high premiums.

For example if you drive more in the night you are three times more likely to have an accident than someone who drives during the day (Forbes). In this scenario, your insurance company can help with providing tools that minimize the probability of that happening instead of charging very high premiums for someone who has driven in the night for the last 20 years and never had an accident. There are no guarantees that the person would never have an accident in the future, but the tools provided can help reduce that risk to a minimum.

There were about 40 to 50 delegates that attended and attendees came from new start-ups, the technology and insurance sectors. The session started with a product feature from Francis White from AliveCor. AliveCor is a heart monitor that provides individuals with the ability to track heart health anywhere, anytime at an affordable cost, you can see more about the device at www.alivecor.com. What is great about this company is that it has a cloud strategy in which you can grant access to your ECG data. It also has alerts that will warn you of any impending dangers and therefore recommend that you contact your physician. The device is portable enough to fit onto the back of a smartphone and takes the ECG reading from both thumbs allowing you to take readings anytime and anywhere.

The second product feature was by Matt Lewis, the founder of Quantid (www.quantid.co), a start-up that is aiming to revolutionize the health industry. Quantid already does what MapMyWalk and Training Peaks already does and more. Quantid describes itself as the Facebook of quantified human data. It is a social networking platform, enabling users of personal tracking devices and apps to make profound improvements to their health, fitness and overall well-being by delivering insights and analysis of their quantified personal data. Although at the time of writing this report their website was down, I can say that the founder has some well meaning ambitions.

Quantid supports a rich set of features; the application integrates with most popular tracking products on the market, making it easy for users to access all their personal data aggregated within a single platform; it allows users to share specific datasets with friends, doctors and other practitioners; and it offers the ability to set reminders, goals and challenges. Quantid plans to amass an enormous database of quantified human data. "By leveraging the power of big data analytics we plan to develop sophisticated algorithms to identify trends and correlations, enabling our customers to generate powerful insights into their behavior, health status, medical conditions and overall well-being." The key challenge to Quantid is the matter of trust, and the guarantee that the customer’s data would never under any circumstances be sold or given to third parties.

The host for the meet-up, Eddie George, took 10 minutes describing what the quantified-self is and how wearables are key to this concept. He described it as all the vital health and other data that could affect how you are offered insurance premiums. Your health and activity data or the lack of it will, in the future, affect the premiums that you pay for health and life insurance.  It will also impact your vehicle insurance. This also led to the question as to how much of your quantified-self do you let your insurance company know about you in order to offer a fair premium.

George identified 3 challenges that face the quantified-self namely, aggregation, analysis and access. Aggregation in the sense that currently individuals are in possession of different types of data related to their health and physical training/activity, therefore it might make analysis a lot more challenging, also access to this data is highly siloed and spread across different providers.

After George’s description of quantified-self we were all split up into break out sessions where we discussed whether there is a benefit for insurance companies and the individual when it comes to this subject matter? One key outcome from my break out group was that, if insurance companies could use the quantified-self to help the individual to make better decisions, rather than punish through hefty premiums it will guarantee the survival of that organization in what is considered a very competitive landscape. Another lesson shared was that insurance companies should start to use technology and the quantified-self to bring individuals on the fringe who normally find it difficult to get insurance into the fold and make the insurance products more accessible to these group of people.

From the number of representatives from the insurance industry at the meet-up, one thing was clear, the insurance industry knows digital transformation is imminent, and they do not want to be caught unawares when this happens.  They want to approach it from a position of strength, rather than from a position of weakness by developing a closer and stronger relationship with their customers by offering better products and services that are value for money.

Peter Abatan is a project manager and a team member of Studio13, a design studio which provides product and service design to a wide variety of Cognizant’s customers in various market sectors.

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Kevin Benedict
Digital Curator, Writer, Speaker
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Real-Time GIS for Increased Visibility, Accountability and Productivity

By Caleb Benedict, Research Analyst, GIS and IoT

Companies are quickly finding new and innovative ways to recognize value by integrating real time mapping applications into their business processes. Real-time mapping is the GIS process of tracking changes on the earth’s surface and displaying that information on a computer screen. This process can include changes to company assets and resources (vehicles, cargo containers, people), and changes in physical terrain based on weather conditions, construction activity, etc.  Companies are increasingly using real-time GIS to improve workforce and project supervision, oversight and accountability.

Examples can be seen in a variety of industries:
  • When port security officials track the location of cargo containers, personnel, and ships as they travel through sea ports.
  • When disaster relief officials track the movement of floodwaters 
  • When insurance companies monitor impact areas from natural disasters allowing them to estimate monetary damages and number of claims
Recent applications of real-time mapping:

Port security officials in Los Angeles use GIS to increase their security measures by tracking people, ships, cargo containers, and vehicles in real time.  This allows them to monitor all aspects of port operations so that any abnormalities can be easily identified and investigated. (http://bit.ly/1jtqwbM)

A handful of insurance companies have also found a way to use real time mapping to estimate the impact of natural disasters to policyholders by mapping the damage areas from floods, tornados and other events that result in insurance claims. This has been helpful to insurance companies because it allows them the ability to estimate damages and prepare their staff for high volumes of new claims. (http://bit.ly/1h9iHus)

The use of GIS in real-time is another element of digital transformation.  You are using imaging sensors to digitize physical terrain, assets and resources so you can develop algorithms to help you more efficiently understand and manage your business.

Adding sensors from connected devices can also add valuable data to your maps.  Knowing the location and status of your vehicles, equipment, materials and workers can enable sophisticated algorithms that impact scheduling and resource utilization.


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Kevin Benedict
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

How The Healthcare Industry is Using GIS in 2014

By Caleb Benedict, Research Analyst, GIS and IoT

GIS technology is being used in the healthcare industry today for patient care and preventative medicine among other things. Hospitals and other organizations, with GIS and big data resources now have the ability to collect geographic information from their patients and study trends in illnesses based on where the patients live now and have lived in the past.  By displaying this information on a map it allows healthcare workers to visually see trends in illnesses and predict which communities will most likely to be impacted in the future.  In addition, understanding where patients have traveled over time enables healthcare officials to predict where ground zero for viruses might be located and how the diseases may have been spread.

A recent GIS study conducted in China determined the next likely at-risk region for the H7N9 avian flu virus is located in a northern region of Vietnam. They were able to determine this information by mapping previous cases of the flu virus which created a cookie-crumb trail that helped them predict northern Vietnam.

GIS applications like the one in China can be used for a variety of healthcare trends. If hospitals start building databases using patient locations, they would be able to detect trends based on patient geography. This could allow hospitals to stock medical inventory based on predictive analytics, train their staff in advance of diseases, and forecast the number of patients that will be affected.


Not only can GIS help predict future at-risk areas, but GIS applications can also help hospitals reduce expenses and improve patient care. A recent study in Maryland compared the use of life flight helicopters to ambulances. The study determined that in 31% of cases when a life flight was used, an ambulance would have been a better choice.  Knowing when an ambulance is a better choice could save a lot of money.

The use of GIS technology and big data analytics in healthcare is an emerging area worth watching. Here are some of the use cases referenced above:

A study by the University of Cincinnati uses GIS to compare the use of life flight helicopters and ambulances. (http://bit.ly/1noQnoQ)

GIS is used to study how pollution levels in different regions of the U.S. affect residents. (http://bit.ly/1jIHGoz)

A recent study in China uses GIS to predict the next impact area for the H7N9 avian flu virus. (http://bit.ly/1fU8yBI)

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Kevin Benedict
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

IoT Devices and Apps for both Industry and Consumers

By Caleb Benedict, Research Analyst, GIS/IoT


Recently Google acquired the home automation company Nest. Nest is a company that sells IoT (Internet of Things) enabled devices that allow homeowners to control the temperature of their homes through their smartphones, plus it sends notifications if it detects dangerous levels of smoke or carbon monoxide. This company is a great example of how IoT is expanding beyond its industrial roots.

Why would Google get involved in home automation systems?  Because their real goal is to collect, analyze and utilize data to provide more personalized online and mobile experiences. Cognizant calls this strategy "Code Halos" strategies.  Nest will provide Google with a much deeper understanding of consumers' "patterns of life."

In the next few years we will see widespread adoption of IoT technologies for consumers. This will include a range of applications such as smartphone controlled appliances, home irrigation systems, alarm systems, home automation systems, smart-watches that monitor vital signs, Internet connected vehicles and new applications that we haven't even heard of yet. There is and will be massive expansion of the IoT for personal use.

IoT is growing quickly and is expanding into new industries. IoT strategies are currently being used in vehicle fleets, home automation and management, healthcare, manufacturing, smart grids, ATMs and much more. Not only are IoT applications being embraced by industry, but also by consumers.  In 2014 we are seeing many new Internet connected devices such as Google Glass, smart watches and smart appliances appear.

Some examples of IoT applications today:

Tracking vehicle fleets for increased accountability
Monitoring vehicle performance to maximize efficiency and reduce operating costs
Viewing electricity usage through smart meters
Managing production lines through M2M sensors
Internet connected-alarm systems
Monitoring vitals for hospital patients
Home management-systems that control thermostats, appliances, irrigation systems, etc.

Recent IoT market forecasts:

IDTechEx research has found that the wireless sensor market will grow to $1.8 billion by 2024. (http://bit.ly/1i5Q29P)

Gartner predicts the “internet of things” will hit 26 billion devices by 2020, up from 900 million five years ago, and this will increase the amount of information available to supply chain professionals, as well as exposure to cyber risks. (http://bit.ly/1e57GG6)

According to a recent report from Navigant Research, cumulative utility spending on IT systems for the smart grid will total $139.3 billion from 2014 through 2022. (http://bit.ly/1ka16DL)

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Kevin Benedict
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

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