This week and next.

Here we go again!

Another week of volatility, and of course, potential buying opportunities.

The USA and China are ramping up their trade war, [mostly driven by Trump], and it seems he has the power to escalate things to a phenomenal level, if he wants.

On Friday, Trump bumped the tariffs already in place, on nearly $250 billion of Chinese imports, including raw materials, machinery, and finished goods, from 25% to 30% .

Those tariffs are due to take effect on the first of October.

But Trump said his planned 10% tariffs on $300 billion worth of additional Chinese-made consumer goods, would also be raised to 15%.

Those tariffs are due to start on Fathers Day, just one week from today.

But it seems, as if often the case with Trump, he could go a lot further, and treat China far more harshly, and disturbingly, without Senate approval.

Under a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, by declaring a national emergency he could ramp things up considerably.

The ABC's Business Reporter, Stephen Letts wrote today, "The International Emergency Economic Power Act (IEEPA) is effectively a declaration of a "state of national emergency" — a drastic action far in excess of the tit-for-tat tariff skirmishes currently being fought.

It is the Trump Administration's most extreme trade weapon and could effectively block China's access to all US markets if deployed."

So watch this space.

Friday saw another fantastic Australian tech company, showing how to do things. ResApp [ASX:RAP] received a CE Mark for the world’s first smartphone-based diagnostic test for respiratory disease.

This is a big deal for the Australian medical technology company, and resulted in a 30% jump in the share price on the news. Here is part of Resapp's market announcement:

"ResAppDx-EU, has received CE Mark certification as a Class IIa medical device. ResAppDx-EU is the world’s first smartphone-based diagnostic test for acute paediatric respiratory disease. CE Mark certification indicates that ResAppDx-EU meets the essential requirements of all the applicable European regulations as a medical device and allows for the sale of ResAppDx-EU in the European Economic Area."

I have listed more details about Resapp's tech, at the end of this newsletter, but essentially, using just a standard smartphone, Resapp's app can tell if, and what type of, respiratory illness a person has, and do so with a high degree of accuracy.

What's really interesting is the Resapp business model.

Tele medicine is essentially a video consultation with a doctor. While not well known in Australia, it's big, and growing overseas.

In fact my wife and I used a telemedicine consult, while in Europe last year, and found it worked well. It cost us 90 Euro rather than the 200 Euro we faced, if we did a face to face consultation.

But the missing link in the video consult process, is the physician's ability to listen to your chest, and thus get a more accurate diagnosis.

Enter Resapp's tech.

By downloading their app, while you are in the "virtual waiting room", [Yes there is such a thing], the GP can get a far more accurate idea of what is going on with your health.

So by targeting a relatively small number of telehealth providers, Resapp will, if succesfull in getting them on board, gain access to some serious numbers.

75m consults per annum (US telehealth ‘e-visits’ in 2014 estimated by Deloitte) 1

Online consultations in China estimated by Frost and Sullivan to reach 4 billion p.a. by 2026 [Ping An Good Doctor, performs 531,000 online consults per day 5]

Up to half of all telehealth consults are for respiratory disease and today, there is no ability to use a stethoscope and no accurate remote diagnosis tools available. 6/7

Resapp aims to charge between five and ten dollars per use.

Have a great week ahead and keep your seat belts fastened at all times!

Phil C.

1. Deloitte, eVisits: the 21st century housecall (August 2014)

2. IHS, World Market for Telehealth (2014)

3. Goldman Sachs Equity Research, The Digital Revolution Comes to US Healthcare (June 2015)

4. Frost and Sullivan Research, commissioned by Ping An via http://www.pahtg.com/media/1144/e_1833ipo.pdf

5. Ping An Good Doctor June 2018 Interim Results, http://www.pahtg.com/media/1238/ping-an-good-doctor-2018-interim-results.pdf

6. Uscher-Pines L and Mehrotra A, Health Affairs 33(2), 2014

7. UnitedHealthcare Presentation (https://www.mobihealthnews.com/content/health-insurance-payer-related-digital-health-news-q2-2016)

MORE ABOUT RESAPP

ResApp Health Limited (ASX: RAP) is a leading digital health company developing smartphone applications for the diagnosis and management of respiratory disease. ResApp’s machine learning algorithms use sound to diagnose and measure the severity of respiratory conditions without the need for additional hardware. Clinical studies at leading hospitals in Australia and the United States have demonstrated accurate diagnosis of lower respiratory tract disease, upper respiratory tract infections, asthma/reactive airway disease, pneumonia, bronchiolitis, croup, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and obstructive sleep apnoea. Potential customers of ResApp’s products include healthcare providers in telehealth, emergency department, urgent care and primary care settings as well as humanitarian organisations in the developing world. For more information, please visit www.resapphealth.com.au.

We do not recommend or advise to buy or sell shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article. The InsideMarket Private Fund does may own shares in some of the companies mentioned in this article. However, we have not received any payment from any company for coverage in this article or anywhere else on the InsideMarket.net site. Disruptive technology stocks should be considered very speculative, high-risk, and very volatile. There are significant risks inherent in developing new technologies that are not discussed here. You should always seek professional advice before considering any share purchase or sale. Please read our full disclaimer.