PCHA Statement From CES: Personal Connected Health Alliance Encourages Fitbit To Close The Data Loop For Consumers With PCHA's Continua Technical Standards For Secure, User-Friendly Data Sharing

Consumers And Health Providers Demanding Connectivity Of Wearable Fitness Trackers

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Rob Havasy, Vice President, Personal Connected Health Alliance, and Executive Director, Continua, comments on news from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that Fitbit will start shipping its new fitness trackers which include Bluetooth Smart-enabled continuous heart rate monitoring capabilities. The Personal Connected Health Alliance, formed by Continua, the mHealth Summit and HIMSS, was founded to represent the voice of the consumer in personal connected health:

As we're seeing at CES this week, personal connected health technologies, including wearable activity and fitness trackers, are in high demand by consumers. We applaud Fitbit and other companies for developing these important tools to help consumers track important measures such as heart rate, to take control of their health and wellness. The next important step is to ensure that consumers are able to share their personal health data with their health providers, caregivers,    family and social networks -- in a secure, user-friendly format.

Continua has developed a set of internationally-recognized technical Design Guidelines that enable user-friendly, secure connectivity across the continuum of health data users, and incorporate Bluetooth Smart device profiles such as heart rate monitors. By becoming Continua compliant, device manufacturers can promote the plug-and-play ecosystem of heath technologies that consumers and health providers are demanding.

About Continua
Continua, an international not-for-profit industry group, is the leading organization convening global technology industry standards to develop end-to-end, plug-and-play connectivity for personal connected health. Continua is a member of the Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHA), an international non-profit organization established by Continua Health Alliance, mHealth Summit and HIMSS to represent the consumer voice in personal connected health. Continua is dedicated to the development of Design Guidelines and test tools to expedite the deployment of personal connected health devices and systems that will empower information-driven health self-management and facilitate the incorporation of health and wellness into the day-to-day lives of consumers. Continua is a pioneer in establishing standards-based guidelines and security for connected health technologies such as sensors, remote monitoring devices, tablets, gateways and smart phones as well as networked and cloud solutions through its Guideline releases. The Continua Council features leading technology, medical device and health care industry leaders and service providers: Fujitsu, Intel, Oracle, Orange, Philips, Qualcomm Life, Roche Diagnostics, Sharp and UnitedHealth Group. For more information visit: www.continuaalliance.org.

SOURCE Continua