We keep hoping for a single device to unlock healthcare the way the iPhone unlocked mobile. It hasn’t come—because the constraint isn’t hardware; it’s architecture. The real “iPhone moment” will be when identity, payments, data liquidity, and scope of practice click into place so that care follows the person, not the building.
We have pieces. CMS proved hospital-level care can move home—hundreds of hospitals approved, tens of thousands of discharges. BLS shows the workforce tilting toward home and community. But the patch doesn’t yet feel like a platform. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services+2medpac.gov+2
Watch small players for clues. Hallmark Homecare’s matching engine looks mundane beside a surgical robot—but it’s more transformative for families. CareFortis’ “no PHI at rest on devices” policy isn’t sexy—but it’s the kind of constraint that lets you scale without crumbling under breach headlines that now hit hundreds of organizations a year. The HIPAA Journal
The tipping point will look boring: universal FIDO2 sign-in, payer APIs that settle instantly, home diagnostics as easy as food delivery, and licensure rules that treat a state line like a speed bump. Then the “iPhone moment” will arrive—and it’ll feel less like a keynote and more like a Tuesday that finally works.
