As part of my 2010 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) experience, I attended the Digital Health Summit, an exhibition that focuses on emerging healthcare technology. The Summit provides the latest statistics on consumer spending for health and wellness solutions, as well as which new devices we’ll see in the future.

What interested me most was the move toward mobile devices and home-based healthcare technologies. Many medical device manufacturers spoke about the growing use of these devices, such as the Mayo Clinic’s new application or “apps” store, where you can access apps like wellness or reminder calls, and a meditation app that teaches consumers breathing and relaxation techniques.

According to the Consumer Electronics Association, some of the factors driving the growth in consumer and home-based healthcare technologies are:

• A tech-enabled adult population spending billions of dollars on solutions that help them manage their own health, as well as providing care for an aging parent.
• Increasing costs in the complex healthcare system has placed greater financial and decision-making responsibilities onto the consumer.
• The increased availability of low cost consumer devices and reliable wireless and broadband services in the home.
• The growing demand by professional caregivers and medical service providers for improved connectivity, monitoring and data capture to help predict and manage the healthcare needs of those who wish to age independently in the comfort of their home.

So what does this all mean to you, the consumer? The key takeaway is that mobile devices are the new distribution channels for everything from health advice to prescriptions. Welcome to the future.