Optum Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer to Deliver Keynote at Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers

DALLAS, TX--(Marketwired - Aug 28, 2014) -  Parks Associates announced today that Ronald J. Ozminkowski, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, Consumer Solutions Group, Optum, will present the keynote address "Enhancing the Consumer's Propensity to Succeed in a Digital Health Management World" at Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers at 11:45 a.m. on Friday, September 5, in San Diego. Ozminkowski will examine how technology providers can help consumers identify and reduce health-related risks and gaps in care that can adversely affect their quality of life.

Parks Associates' 2Q 2014 consumer survey data finds 18% of U.S. broadband households see a doctor who offers real-time video calls via the Internet and roughly 28% of them have used this feature. Forty percent see a provider who allows them to check specific medical exam results online, and over 50% of patients with this access have used this feature. Forty-two percent can view the medical history online, and over 50% of patients with this access have done so.

"A tall order from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is to reshape the relationship between health providers and patients in the U.S. by more proactively engaging patients for self-care and healthy living," said Harry Wang, Director, Health & Mobile Product Research, Parks Associates. "Engaging consumers in healthcare requires solutions with the flexibility to align the various goals and values of individual consumers. Dr. Ozminkowski's keynote will provide invaluable insight on the role of healthcare technologies in motivating consumers toward their own best outcomes."

"For healthcare providers, they now have financial incentives to engage their patients in quality-enhancing services," Dr. Ozminkowski said. "They need to be able to guide and advise patients who ask questions about new apps or where best to get advice online or from other sources. Many individual providers will struggle with this transition, so services that can offer to help providers carry out care coordination and help manage the associated business aspects will be well received. I look forward to discussing this key market area at Connected Health Summit."

Parks Associates will host the inaugural Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers on September 4-5 at the Omni Hotel in San Diego. The two-day executive conference will feature interactive panels focusing on the impact of connected devices, mobile health services, and new health reforms on service providers, connected device manufacturers, payors, and institutions in the digital health markets. In addition to Optum, the Connected Health Summit will feature keynotes from Qualcomm Life, Humana Wellness, Walgreens, and Ascension Health.

Connected Health Summit Sponsors include Association Sponsor CEA; Charter Sponsors ADT, Care Innovations, Lowe's, and Z-Wave; Registration Sponsor Independa; Special Event Sponsor Walgreens; Event Sponsor Masimo; and Break Sponsors Ayla Networks, Playtabase, and Wellness & Prevention, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company.

Registration and the agenda can be found on the event website www.connectedhealthsummit.com. Press passes are available at http://www.parksassociates.com/events/connected-health/media. Contact Holly Sprague at hsprague@gmail.com for interviews or press inquiries.

About Connected Health Summit

Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers analyzes the roles of connected health technologies and innovations in driving changes in consumer behaviors and business models. The event focuses on four areas of consumer health technologies in particular, which all require active consumer participation to be successful: remote health monitoring for accountable care, consumer-centric wellness and fitness solutions, independent living technologies and services, and innovative convenience care models.

The Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers will take place September 4-5 at the Omni Hotel in San Diego, CA. www.connectedhealthsummit.com. Follow the event on Twitter at @CONN_Health_Smt. Subscribe to Parks Associates' digital health newsletter at http://www.parksassociates.com/newsletters_subscribe.