No Doctors Needed with CES Tech

By Stewart Wolpin

Las Vegas, Nevada: Here in the 21th century, it’s not an apple but technology that can keep the doctor away. At CES this week, several new gadgets debuted that will help you avoid expensive doctor visits.

And the long-awaited marriage between consumer technology, medical technology and business technology may have been consummated.

For instance, there’s the optometry-substitute EyeQue VisionCheck ($35 on Indiegogo, $60 when available in March). You attach the little eye viewer to a smartphone running an app and conduct your own 5-minute eye test. EyeQue claims 99 percent accuracy, and my own EyeQue try-out at the booth perfectly matched my optometrist’s prescription.

To avoid a trip to the dentist, Philips has rolled out its Sonicare-based teledentistry service. Using the company’s Sonicare electric toothbrush app, you describe your dental problem along with a picture of your choppers and, in an hour or so, an actual dentist in your state will respond, all for $10 a shot.

And now you don’t need your GP to check your blood pressure thanks to Omron’s HeartGuide smartwatch ($499, available at the end of January). Approved by the FDA as a medical device, the HealthGuide’s band pumps up just like a real blood pressure armband and takes an official oscillometric reading, displayed on the watch face. The watch also checks your pulse, tracks your steps, monitors your sleep, and alerts you to incoming texts, emails, and calls, just like a regular non-medical smartwatch.

Finally, you can now stay at home instead of spending several expensive days in a hospital when you engage the Medically Home service (medicallyhome.com). You get a special hotline phone to directly connect you to the appropriate medical specialists, an iPad for video conferencing and virtual exams, biometric sensors to monitor your vitals, an actual hospital bed if needed, up to 18 services including x-rays, IV drips and physical therapy, and four actual doctor or nurse visits a day, just as in a hospital. This hospital-at-home is covered by a growing number of insurance plans and by Medicare Advantage, and can save you 30 percent or more over the cost of a comparable hospital stay.