[6] Two "core platforms" are emphasized in connected health, self-care and remote care, with programs primarily focused on monitoring and feedback for the chronically ill, elderly, and those patients located at an untenable distance from primary or specialty providers.
[citation needed] Inherent in the concept of connected health is flexibility in terms of technological approaches to care delivery and specific program objectives.
[citation needed] Proponents of Connected health view it as a critical component of change in human healthcare and envision: Rising costs, increases in chronic diseases, geographic dispersion of families, growing provider shortages, ethnic disparities in care, better survival rates among patients fighting serious diseases, an aging U.S. population and longer lifespan are all factors pointing to a need for better ways of delivering healthcare.
[8][9][10] Direct-to-consumer advertising is a demonstrated contributor to the rise in consumer demand, as is the mass availability of inexpensive technology and ubiquity of the Internet, cell phones and PDAs.
[13] Another initiative at the Center for Connected Health uses cellular telephone technology and a "smart" pill bottle to detect when a patient has not taken their scheduled medication.
It appears that connected health programs are operated and funded primarily by home care agencies and large healthcare systems.
[citation needed] However, insurers and employers are increasingly interested in connected health for its potential to reduce direct and indirect healthcare costs.
In 2007, EMC Corporation launched the first employer-sponsored connected health program, in the beta phase of implementation, aimed at improving outcomes and cost of care for patients with high blood pressure.