The West Wireless Health Institute is an independently-funded, nonprofit medical research organization focused on lowering health care costs through technology and innovation. PlanNet was recently invited to participate in one of their workshops reflecting a new form of health care.

By harnessing innovation in the wireless space—along with pervasive technologies such as ubiquitous sensing and data analytics—technology can fundamentally shift the paradigm in health care delivery and dramatically lower health care costs. Ultimately, there is the opportunity to create a new “infrastructure-independence” model of health care, which translates into the right care, at the right time, wherever people need it.

Wireless health shouldn’t be confused with electronic health records, telemedicine or the broader landscape of health information technology. Instead, wireless health is the use of wireless technologies for health care delivery and personal health management. Wireless health encompasses end-to-end solutions that facilitate continuous access to health care information, expert advice, or therapeutic intervention—enabled by remote sensing, ubiquitous telecommunications networks, and smart systems and platforms.