This week, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) released its annual report on the top health industry issues. The document touches on everything from state debates over establishing Affordable Care Act-mandated health insurance exchanges to employers’ new role in providing health care to the growing influence of the consumer. Chris Wasden, PwC’s Global Healthcare Innovation Leader, chatted with me about how technology specifically fits into the bigger picture and the ways in which it will impact the industry in the next few months and years.

2013 is a critical year in healthcare for several reasons, he said – this year, health insurance exchanges are supposed to be ready to come online, doctors are incentivized to meet new electronic health record guidelines and more hospitals will feel the pinch from new penalty fines for high readmission rates. But even aside from the changing policy landscape, a big driver of technology in health care is simply its ubiquity in the lives of consumers.

“Consumers [think that] with my mobile device, I can control the light fixtures in my home remotely, I can buy and sell goods, I can get directions. I’m able to do all these things and yet, when I walk into [the doctor’s] office, I can’t use my mobile device to do anything,” said Wasden.

Technology is poised to shape the health care industry in several ways – here are seven of those trends to watch in 2013.

Consumers get more tools for being cost-savvy

If you needed to buy a plane ticket across the country, you’d likely have a sense of how much it would cost and, if not, you’d at least know where to go to find out. But what if you needed to pay for an MRI? Or a colonoscopy? Or a mammogram? Comparison shopping is the modus operandi for most big-ticket items we purchase, but not so for healthcare – until now.

We’re clearly not going to become a nation of cost-savvy health care consumers overnight. But as states implement the recently-passed Affordable Care Act (ACA) and establish health care exchanges, they’ll be under more pressure to provide tools that assist people in choosing their own coverage. The push for more transparency is also coming from employers’ shifts to higher-deductible health plans and, says PwC, the rise of retail health clinics that provide health services in nontraditional environments, like pharmacies, big box stores and other non-medical locations. Sites like Castlight Health, ClearCostHealth and GoHealth are leading the way in comparison shopping, while startups like Simplee and CakeHealth help consumers manage and understand their health care finances.

Employer as health coach

When it comes to health care, employers have played the role of banker for decades, but, going forward, many may start playing the part of coach. Given new incentives in the ACA and in light of rising health care costs, employers will increasingly rethink their roles, says PwC. And, as they do, many could embrace prevention-focused, data-driven employee wellness programs that quantifiably monitor employees’ behavior and provide tangible rewards. With new fitness trackers like FitBits, WiFi-enabled scales and biometric devices that measure blood glucose levels, blood pressure and other vital signs, programs from companies like Healthrageous remotely track patient progress and outcomes; companies like Keas use social media and gamification to keep employees engaged; and PUSH, for example, actually pays employees for achieving their goals.

Consumer ratings make a difference

Consumer reviews are run-of-the mill for everything from restaurants and reviews to gadgets and books sold on Amazon. And they’re slowly making their way into health. Through consumer services, like ZocDoc, HealthTap and Healthgrades, patients are reading and contributing comments about their doctors. And, PwC’s report highlights that government payment to hospitals is increasingly being connected to consumer experience and satisfaction. Historically, health care providers have been resistant to reviews, believing that patient ratings would skew negative. But a study last year, found that patient reviews were largely positive. A more recent study indicated that too few patients had submitted reviews for rankings on sites like Healthgrades, Vitals and RateMD to be reliable. Still, though there are limitations to the ratings, patients support them and their value is expected to grow.

Nonphysicians put on the doctor’s coat

You’ve likely heard the phrase “doctor shortage” bandied about considerably in recent months. But according to a new study in Health Affairs, most estimates don’t consider how new technology, paired with nonphysicians, can make it possible to treat more patients with fewer physicians.  The health care industry may be more resistant to this kind of change than any other, says Wasden. But electronic communication, big data and other kinds of information technology will result in nurses, pharmacists and other nonphysicians stepping up to offset at least some of the increase in demand for doctor services.

Health comes home

Considering that we spend far more of our time at our houses and apartments than we do at the doctor’s office, health has always started with the home, Wasden notes. But the rise of telehealth services, from startups like Ringadoc to a national telehealth program from insurer WellPoint, as well as the growth of connected and wearable devices that enable doctors to monitor patients remotely, will make health even more bound to the home. Additionally, PwC reports that concierge medicine and “population health” approaches to care, which reward physicians based on outcomes, not treatment, are on the rise. And to keep patients healthy and out of their offices, physicians will increasingly rely on digital communication.

Consumerization of health IT

Mobile technology, as we and others have reported, is sweeping health care.  But that isn’t because IT departments across the industry have pushed it into the doctor’s office, it’s because doctors and consumers have. Doctors rarely warm quickly to IT initiatives, Wasden said, but because of their attachment to their mobile devices, they’re starting to bring them to work. The downside of the “bring your own device” trend is that hospitals must contend with security issues. But the upside is that it’s bringing consumer technology into health at a faster pace, which bodes well for patient engagement and more communication between patients and health care providers.

Big pharma goes ‘beyond the pill’

For years, drug companies have been looking for ways to provide value “beyond the pill,” says Wasden, and as they do, more are turning to apps, devices and sensor-based technology. Those options help keep them relevant to consumers on an ongoing basis and they help them address increasing pressure to show outcomes.  For example, earlier this year, Pfizer launched a Lipitor app just as generic versions of its drug hit the market. Drug firm Novartis is an investor in Proteus Digital Health, which this summer received FDA approval for its chip-embedded pill.

Image by Brian A Jackson via Shutterstock.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• A near-term outlook for big data
• Connected world: the consumer technology revolution
• Analyzing the wearable computing market

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the education-focused division of the McGraw-Hill Companies unveiled the SmartBook, an adaptive ebook that adjusts the reading experience to each student’s pace and mastery level.

Content is still structured somewhat like a textbook but instead of asking students to read it thoroughly from start to finish, it coaches the student on how to read the material and quizzes them on various concepts as they move through each section. Depending on their responses, they’re guided along to different highlighted passages. McGraw-Hill said it expects to release SmartBooks at prices starting at $19.99 for about 90 courses later this Spring.

The program, which is available on computers and tablets, builds on the 12 billion data points on student learning collected from LearnSmart, McGraw-Hill’s adaptive learning platform, the company said. But where LearnSmart is more focused on reviewing material, SmartBook attempts to help students read more efficiently to better retain information.

“To revolutionize learning, you need to revolutionize reading,” said Brian Kibby, president of McGraw-Hill Education. “We’re focused on attacking graduation rates and getting results.”

From a demo, it does seem that the SmartBook aims to provide an adaptive reading experience that adjusts to students with a good deal of granularity, using dynamic text and voice instructions to literally talk them through the program and point out the areas on which they should focus.  But McGraw-Hill’s products are not the only adaptive learning platforms out there. A year ago, at CES, for example, publishing giant Pearson announced that adaptive learning company Knewton would power its digital offerings. Macmillan also offers an adaptive assessment tool in its PrepU program.

The program closely tracks student behavior and, according to the Wall Street Journal, the company may share that data with instructors to improve courses, which could raise privacy questions for students and parents. But the company has said that it takes data protection seriously.

With increasing options for digital content, including open content and self-authoring platforms, McGraw-Hill Education and other textbook publishers are attempting to set themselves apart with products that make textbooks more interactive and smarter. The digital textbook market is still a small piece of the overall textbook universe but it’s expected to become a driver of growth. Kibby has been especially bullish on digital textbooks, arguing that higher education should go totally digital by 2015.

In November, McGraw-Hill announced that it planned to sell its education arm to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $2.5 billion, but the deal has not yet closed.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Author to Audience: Disintermediation in Publishing
• How consumer media will change in 2013
• CES 2012: a recap and analysis

Pinch me: It’s like Comdex** coming back to life.

A Las Vegas trade show in November is tried-and-true IT vendor behavior and news of it comes just weeks after Amazon launched an AWS partner program that echos similar incentive programs offered by companies like Microsoft and IBM for years.

AWS re:invent targets developers wanting to learn about AWS architecture, configuration management, performance optimization and participate in “all-day coding challenges.”

It also wants to draw startups that are looking for cloud infrastruture and enterprise IT professionals, according to the post on the AWS blog. Topics will include gaming, disaster recovery, big data, HPC and analytics, according to the blog post.

(**For those too young to remember,  Comdex at its peak drew up to 200,000 people to the desert in the weeks  before Thanksgiving. It was the go-to venue for IT buyers who went to see and perhaps hobnob with PC era luminaries like Microsoft’s  Bill Gates while checking out the latest technology.  Comdex shut down in 2004 having been supplanted by the giant Consumer Electronics Show and a series of smaller, more focused trade shows.)

Photograph courtesy of  Flickr user Microsoft Sweden

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• What Amazon’s new Kindle line means for Apple, Netflix and online media
• Microsoft Azure: What It Is, What It Costs and Who Should Care
• How tomorrow’s mobile-centric data centers will look

The proliferation of these products shows that augmented reality, a technology which has a conference of its own, is going mainstream as more people carry smartphones, are always connected and want the latest and greatest experience.

San Francisco-based Nukotoys will be on hand to show off NUKO trading cards, which pop with animated monsters when viewed through an iPad, iPhone or iPod. The Monsterology cards, now in beta, will let kids collect, trade, train and play with 3D unicorns, cyclopses and sea serpents, the company said.

Digital Tech Frontier will show off its new Popar book line. The books are encoded so that a user with a webcam and a PC, will see 3-D, moving images — rocket ships blasting off, planets spinning, etc. — as they read.  (See video here.)

Other AR-adopting toy makers include WowWee, which is using the technology in its new Appgear line shown at the London Toy Fair last month. And perennial fan favorite Lego is using AR in its Life of George game and in some of its product packaging.

There are many potential uses for AR. Hewlett-Packard was on the road at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and other venues showing off Autonomy’s Aurasma for retail and other applications. Bodymetrics demonstrated an AR fitting room at CES; some realtors are using AR to make house listings more compelling.

With more than 184 million iPhones on the planet, plus all the other iPads and smartphones out there, the addressable audience for AR goodies will only grow as will applications beyond fun and games.

Feature photo courtesy of  Flickr user antjeverena

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Analyzing the wearable computing market
• CES 2012: a recap and analysis
• 12 tech leaders’ resolutions for 2012

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Who and what to watch in the new era of the living room
• Connected world: the consumer technology revolution
• The future of mobile: a segment analysis by GigaOM Pro

It’s too soon to say, but for those seeking a low-cost, large tablet, there are a few points to consider in the A200. Although it’s a new model, it’s still based on last year’s tablet technology. The device is powered by a dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, for example, and runs Android 3.2 (Honeycomb). Acer is said to be rolling out a software update to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) as early as mid-February, however.

I reviewed the similar A500 tablet last year and found it to be a capable slate and a good value for the $449 price tag. Just like that model, the A200 uses a 1280 x 800 resolution display. Those who want ports and options certainly should be happy with the A200, as it generally provides most of the important ones: full-sized USB 2.0, micro USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, microSD memory card slot and 2-megapixel front-facing camera. Battery life is estimated at 8 hours.

That Acer found a way to build a similar tablet that shaves a little weight as well as $100 off the suggested price is certainly impressive. Once the device sees the Android 4.0 software update, I expect it to impress even more. But new Android tablets with more capable hardware are coming soon, so sales are likely to depend on how much value consumers perceive in the A200. I plan to hit up my local Best Buy over the weekend and see for myself.

In the meantime, I found a nice overview video of the A200 at Android Central to satisfy my curiosity. More important to me than the hardware look is the software customization Acer revamped for the A200. I like what I see in the new Ring launcher and integrated screenshot capture function. Have a look and see what you think.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• CES 2012: a recap and analysis
• The connected planet: Smartphones aren’t the only player
• Mobile Q2: Smartphone growth surges; iPad’s rule continues

This quick video look shows off the new native email app, which looks to be well done, complete with a unified Inbox. There are also some new games that were ported from Android over to BlackBerry 2.0. I haven’t yet seen the Android player software that will let the Playbook run a subset of Android applications.

I also heard about, but didn’t see, the feature that will let you use your BlackBerry phone as a type of remote control for the PlayBook. By bridging the handset over a wireless Bluetooth connection, you can push docs, data or a web page from the small screen to a big screen.

With only a limited look at PlayBook 2.0, I’m reserving judgment at the moment, but I can say that the upgrade refines the experience by adding key features needed and more social networking tools. The issue is that such functionality is late and may only appeal to the current PlayBook audience, which is likely fewer than 1.5 million people.

Will it be enough to expand the PlayBook user base? I don’t think so, at least not in a meaningful number, but perhaps the new OS update coupled with more marketing and aggressive pricing will increase the PlayBook’s appeal.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Podcast: Mobile winners and losers in 2012 and what to expect in 2013
• Analyzing the wearable computing market
• CES 2012: a recap and analysis

Despite that Apple doesn’t officially exhibit at CES, its presence is felt everywhere. Accessory makers use the show to launch docks, devices, chargers, peripherals and more designed to plug into, power up or otherwise complement Apple hardware. And Apple’s competition in the computer and mobile hardware game seem to be almost equally paying homage to the absent Mac-maker; Intel’s vaunted Ultrabooks aspire to be the next MacBook Air, while smartphones and tablets are measured against Apple’s iPhone and iPad.

It makes sense then, that Apple’s own iOS product marketing chief Greg Joswiak, as spotted by PaidContent’s Tom Krazit, would be on hand to take a look at what the competition thought would represent legitimate competition to Apple’s hardware and software. And if someone as high-ranking as Joswiak is on hand, then another 250-odd lower-level employees is hardly a surprising figure. CES, after all, is a terrific opportunity to see not only shipping products from a broad cross-section of the competition, but also to get a look at how your third-party peripheral partners are representing your own products by association, as well as other in-development tech trotted out to wow the media.

Apple doesn’t need a presence at CES, but it will benefit from the opportunity it represents to take a look at the competition with its guard down. In stark contrast to Apple’s typical behavior, many companies are previewing devices that could be almost a year out from actual production; getting a hands-on look at the iPad 3′s and next MacBook Air’s potential competitors with the benefit of insider knowledge is definitely worth the price of a few hundred registrations.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• A clouded view of Google Music
• The evolution of consumer-media cloud storage
• Why the Mac is infiltrating the enterprise

As more cloud services come online — as they seem to be doing by the day this week at the Consumer Electronics Show – the demand for webscale data centers to power them will grow as well.

“In public cloud, where you do more things for more people — things like iCloud or perhaps what Acer and Lenovo are doing [at CES], you’ve got to build out data centers to accommodate a bigger user base,” said Sam Barnett, directing analyst for data center and cloud for market researcher Infonetics.

New Infonetics research shows the global data center players with the biggest data centers are those with the most aggressive plans to build out even more capabilities.

The numbers show that of the 19 big data center providers surveyed, those that field the biggest of the big “super data centers” plan to add more. Aggregate numbers from the 19 companies indicate they plan to move from three to five of these data centers by the end of 2013. (Infonetics defines super data centers as those with more than 10,000 physical servers.)

“That is very significant growth in a short amount of time,” said Barnett. While the research firm doesn’t name the companies surveyed, it says they include large telcos, cable operators, and big data center and co-location providers. Barnett did note that big Internet content providers like Google, Facebook and Yahoo weren’t surveyed — so their expansion plans are not factored in.

There are also plans to expand medium and large data centers, but the growth rate there isn’t as dramatic, Barnett said. These findings fall in line with anecdotal evidence that the biggest data centers are building out additional capacity as companies increasingly move more of their work to outside data center providers that can offer great price advantages.

Growth expected after M&A boom

That projected data center growth comes after a year of moving and shaking in the data centers arena, which saw $12.3 billion in M&A activity worldwide last year, according to BroadGroup, a U.K.-based consulting firm. Most of those deals were worth less than $100 million, but there were a few blockbusters, including CenturyLink’s $2.5 billion buy of Savvis and a partnership of KKR, Silver Lake and Technology Crossover Ventures snapping up GoDaddy for $2 billion. And don’t forget Verizon’s buyout of Terremark.

Very few of even the biggest companies on the planet can run a big data center as efficiently as Amazon or another super-data-center provider can. Unless and until those economics change, expect more growth as the biggest-of-the-big data center providers get bigger still.

Photos courtesy of Flickr user Tom Raftery

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Infrastructure Q2: Big data and PaaS gain more momentum
• Cloud computing infrastructure: 2012 and beyond
• How AT&T can catch Amazon Web Services

I’ll spare you the umpteenth “what happens in Vegas” joke and just get straight to the point. Here are all the keynotes, press conferences and other notable live streams from this year’s CES:

Monday, Jan. 9, 2012:

• 1 p.m. PST – Samsung Press Conference – Cnet / Livestream
• 3 p.m. PST – Panasonic Press Conference  - Cnet / Livestream, Panasonic/Ustream
• 4 p.m. PST – Nvidia Press Conference  - Cnet / Livestream
• 5 p.m. PST – Sony Press Conference  - Cnet / Livestream, Sony / Ustream
• 6:30 p.m. PST – Keynote: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer – Microsoft

Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012:

• 8:50 a.m. PST – Keynote: Qualcomm Chairman and CEO Dr. Paul E. Jacobs – Qualcomm
• 3 p.m. PST – CES Next Big Thing feat. Google Chairman Eric Schmidt - Cnet / Livestream
• 4:30 p.m. PST – Keynote: Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini - Intel / Livestream

Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012:

• 10 a.m. PST - Best of CES finalists announced - Cnet / Livestream

Ongoing live coverage, check sites for details:

• Cnet
• Twit.tv
• TechCrunch 
• Revision3
• The Verge

We will add more links as they become available, so check back, and feel free to leave your own links in the comments!

Image courtesy of Flickr user PrimeImageMedia.com.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• How consumer media will change in 2013
• Controversy, courtrooms and the cloud in Q1
• CES 2012: a recap and analysis