Metabolic health isn’t just something that happens in the doctor’s surgery. It’s part of people’s everyday lives – whilst shopping, sleeping, working, at home and out and about. That is precisely where new partnerships can make a difference.
What if companies from different sectors were to pool their expertise and use it to pioneer new approaches to prevention and metabolic health?
Metabolic health is often assessed on the basis of individual measurements: weight, blood sugar, blood pressure or physical activity. Yet health is not determined by a single factor, and certainly not at a single point in time.
People sleep. They eat. They work. They move about. They go shopping, travel to work, visit the dentist or receive treatment in hospital. This gives rise to many points of contact every day, which are often viewed in isolation from one another these days.
The intriguing question is therefore: what if companies from different sectors were to combine their expertise and use it to develop a new healthcare journey?
Not as a collection of as many devices and data sources as possible. But as an interconnected system in which one meaningful stimulus can pave the way for the next step.
What if the first step towards metabolic prevention began not with your GP, but with your dentist?
Dental practices provide regular check-ups, build trust and offer natural opportunities for discussion on topics such as diet, inflammation, smoking and lifestyle. A health insurance provider can build on this by offering voluntary prevention programmes, risk assessment questionnaires, coaching and incentive schemes.
The dentist does not make a metabolic diagnosis in this context. Instead, they provide a low-threshold incentive, which may open the door to further preventive care.
The idea behind this is that the best way to approach health does not necessarily have to start where a problem is diagnosed. It can begin where trust and regular contact already exist.
A second scenario approaches healthcare from the perspective of another everyday sense: sight.
A provider of eye tests maintains regular contact with patients and is able to spot any changes. A provider of home diagnostics can take this a step further: an easy-to-use home test, linked to a laboratory and with digital processing of the results.
In this way, a single eye test can provide a further avenue to a more comprehensive approach to health.
A change of perspective: Not every start to a health journey has to begin with a traditional health programme.
A smartwatch, for example, tracks movement, sleep, resting heart rate and physical exertion. A smart home recognises routines: activity at home, daily rhythms, sleeping environment or changes in behaviour.
Taken separately, these are different data sets. When considered together, selected pieces of information could provide insights into changes in everyday life.
This is not about surveillance that is as comprehensive as possible. The focus is on data minimisation, clear consent and a demonstrable benefit. Changes in movement patterns, poorer sleep and other routines could, taken together, trigger a preventive response.
The question behind this is: Can a change in one’s daily routine sometimes provide more guidance than a single measurement?
Health data becomes particularly relevant when it can lead to a specific action in everyday life.
A glucose sensor can reveal individual patterns and reactions to meals. A food platform, on the other hand, knows the exact moment when specific decisions are made: Which product ends up in the shopping basket? Which recipe is being cooked? What alternatives are available?
This link could turn an abstract measurement into a practical decision-making tool.
Not just: ‘My score was poor.’
Rather: “What alternative can I choose the next time I go shopping?”
The workplace also offers a potential starting point for health promotion.
A canteen operator has expertise in menu planning, consumer behaviour and daily food choices. A health insurance provider contributes prevention programmes, health literacy and voluntary services.
Together, they could help to integrate health promotion more closely into everyday life – precisely where people make decisions on a daily basis.
This idea can be applied to many workplaces: Can health promotion become a more integral part of everyday life, rather than being a separate programme that takes us out of it?
A home emergency call system is, first and foremost, a safety system. However, recurring alarm incidents could also prompt a more in-depth review.
The home emergency call service provider is aware of events, times of day and patterns. A digital pharmacy provides medication plans, dosing instructions, advice and pharmaceutical support.
This could mean that the response to an emergency could provide further impetus for prevention. It is not just a question of ‘How can we help now?’, but also: ‘Is there any evidence as to why such situations keep recurring?’
It is precisely here that we can see the added value that can be created by linking two previously separate systems.
Sleep is closely linked to everyday life – and yet it is often viewed in isolation from diet and exercise.
A sleep tracker provides information on duration, quality, regularity and recovery. A nutrition coach is familiar with eating habits, meal patterns, cravings and daily routines.
Taken together, this provides a more comprehensive picture of the day: not just what someone eats, but also the circumstances in which decisions are made.
What if coaching didn’t just ask what we do – but also what our everyday lives were like before that?
Smart incontinence products are, first and foremost, care aids. Sensors can also provide information on changing frequencies, moisture levels and day and night patterns.
A home care provider is responsible for home care, care planning and liaising with relatives and care professionals.
This connection could help people spot changes earlier – for example, in daily routines or in care needs.
This also changes the way we view connected products: they can be more than mere consumer goods and become part of a digital supply system.
It’s easy to say, ‘Get more exercise’. The more difficult question is how exercise can actually be incorporated into everyday life.
A mobility provider knows routes, distances, access points and services. A wearable technology provider can track steps, minutes of activity, exertion and recovery.
Why shouldn’t a trip to the chemist’s, the supermarket or work be just as much a part of a health journey as a workout?
This combination could bring exercise closer to real life – and turn a general recommendation into a concrete part of everyday life.
A great deal of relevant information becomes apparent in hospital: laboratory results, blood pressure, weight, diagnoses and any limitations on movement.
Once you’ve been discharged, however, everyday life begins again.
This is precisely where digital lifestyle coaching could come into its own. Nutrition, exercise, sleep, motivation, goals and reminders could be continued there, picking up where face-to-face contact leaves off.
A stay in hospital would therefore not be viewed in isolation, but rather as a potential turning point within a longer-term health journey.
1. A company provides the access.
For example, through a GP’s surgery, a canteen, a smart home, transport, care services or a hospital.
2. A second company brings further expertise to the table.This might include diagnostics, coaching, sensor technology, nutrition, medication or digital services.
3. This connection paves the way for the next step.A signal can lead to a check. A measurement can lead to action. An event can trigger a preventative measure.
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The underlying idea behind the ten scenarios goes beyond individual partnerships.
The question is what healthcare might look like if companies were not only to further develop their own products, but also to collaborate on devising new combinations and services.
A smartwatch manufacturer does not have to become a smart home company. A health insurance provider does not have to build a diagnostics platform. A canteen operator does not have to become a healthcare company.
The added value may lie precisely in the fact that different companies contribute their respective strengths.
This also changes the role of the IoT.
Connectivity is not the product itself. It lays the foundations for devices, data and services to interact securely and reliably. This creates opportunities to implement new digital supply concepts across company and industry boundaries.
The key here is not to link as much data as possible. The key is to derive tangible benefits from relevant information.
In the healthcare sector in particular, there are clear requirements for this: voluntary participation, data minimisation, transparency and demonstrable added value for people. Technological feasibility alone is not enough. Trust must be an integral part of the concept.
For individual innovations to evolve into an interconnected healthcare ecosystem, more is needed than just high-performance technologies. What is crucial is a digital infrastructure that connects devices, data, applications and people securely and reliably. This is precisely where Deutsche Telekom can bring its strengths to bear – as a technology partner that brings together a range of expertise and supports the development of new digital healthcare solutions.
This is underpinned by our global IoT connectivityUsing technologies such as NB-IoT, LTE-M, 4G/LTE, 5G and Satellite IoT, we enable the reliable connectivity of a wide variety of devices and applications. A single contract, a single point of contact and global connectivity help to reduce the complexity of international IoT projects.
But networking goes far beyond connectivity. With T Cloud , we create opportunities to deliver data and applications within a sovereign cloud infrastructure. Our security solutions help to protect sensitive information and digital systems. 5G campus networks enable high-performance, local networking – for example, in hospitals or research institutions. In addition, secure communication platforms can support the secure exchange of information and collaboration between stakeholders in the healthcare sector.
In this way, Telekom brings together various technological building blocks that are essential for a connected healthcare ecosystem. Not as a provider of a single healthcare solution, but as a partner that creates the conditions necessary for innovative ideas to become a reality across company and industry boundaries.
After all, the future of connected healthcare is shaped by collaboration – and we are laying the technological foundations for it.
The ten use cases are therefore neither finished product concepts nor statements regarding specific partnerships. They have been deliberately formulated as an invitation to think further.
After all, perhaps the next relevant healthcareinnovation may not lie in yet another individual product.
Perhaps it arises where a healthcare company meets a company from a completely different sector.
One dental practice per health insurance scheme.
An eye test on Home Diagnostics.
A smartwatch for a smart home.
A glucose sensor on a food platform.
A canteen with a focus on prevention.
A home emergency call to a digital pharmacy.
A sleep tracker combined with nutritional coaching.
A skincare product available from Homecare.
Mobility on wearables.
A clinic specialising in digital lifestyle coaching.
What if these connections did not result in ten individual use cases – but rather a Connected Metabolic Health Journey?
That’s exactly what’s worth talking about.
Hannes has been working in Telekom Germany’s key account segment since 2022. He is passionate about connecting people and ideas in the field of smart connected products. He firmly believes that the best solutions emerge when companies and partners collaborate across industry boundaries. In the IoT blog, he demonstrates how innovative technologies and strong ecosystems give rise to new opportunities and generate tangible added value.
“The most exciting innovations often emerge where two industries meet that have not previously been considered in conjunction with one another.”
– Hannes Händel, Deutsche Telekom IoT
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