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On the flip side, traditional healthcare players well understand the system, but face the challenge of being able to see old problems with new eyes—and then actually being able to effect change once a new solution has been identified. In the United States, two of the biggest factors affecting digital health innovation are intended protections afforded by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which addresses the privacy and security of patient data, and the U. S. Food and Drug Administration approval process. The update strengthened privacy, security and enforcement provisions, but many people designing mobile health applications say it did not simplify policy and technical language. The Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC), a consortium of traditional healthcare players, including representatives from the provider, insurer, manufacturing and technology sectors, recently published a report detailing six recommendations to improve the U. S. healthcare system, including solutions for addressing patient engagement, data interoperability and antiquated regulations.

Researchers reported that a “liquid biopsy” blood test that’s possible due to advanced genome sequencing can find tiny pieces of cancer DNA in a patient’s blood. If the approach proves successful, oncologists could quickly determine whether a treatment is working or if the patient’s medicine should change for a variety of cancers, including lung, colon and blood. The American Cancer Society, using data collected by the CDC, found a murky picture of cancer progress, especially when it comes reducing some of the most common risk factors, including smoking, diet, not exercising, obesity and proper screening. Smoking, clearly the biggest risk factor for lung cancer, has decreased substantially from 23.5 percent to 17.8 percent today, but that figure means millions of adults are still at risk, particularly those in lower socioeconomic classes.