Mobile Health Solutions - mHealth
There are already over 4 billion mobile devices in use around the world — 64 percent of them are in the hands of people living in emerging market economies — and the numbers are only growing.
In the coming decade, mHealth will dramatically change the daily clinical practices of many health care providers and the lives of their patients. Innovative mHealth projects utilizing mobile phones and other wireless and hand held devices are powering the collection and use of health information to diagnose, treat, and educate people in even the most remote corners of the world.
The following are some examples of existing open source and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) mHealth solutions being used in a wide array of settings:
EpiSurveyor is now the most widely adopted 'open source' mobile health software in the world. EpiSurveyor enables full cycle data collection from surveillance of diseases affecting populations to evaluating the success of particular treatments.
WebMD Health Corporation recently launched Medscape Mobile, a free medical application that provides physicians with medical information in a convenient mobile format that can be accessed on demand using an iPhone. This includes comprehensive drug information, clinical reference tools, medical news and continuing medical education.
During 2008, SigmaCare implemented its mobile electronic medical record (mEMR) system in 19 nursing homes in the New York metropolitan area. The system allows health care providers to access resident medical records and document activities, treatments, vital signs, and notes at the point of care using handheld and portable devices.
According to MobileHealthNews, Stanford Hospital & Clinics in Palo Alto have started a trial with Apple and Epic to pilot test mobile EMR software that will let medical staff access patient charts on Apple's iPhone.
Allscripts Remote enables physicians to access and work with Allscripts EHR directly from their iPhone. The application’s capabilities include access to real-time patient summary information, communication to local hospital emergency rooms, ePrescribing, and real-time access to other information, including medical history, lab results and medications.
Aetna is working to connect a range of health apps to its online Personal Health Record (PHR) portal. Patients can track various personal health activities and upload that data to their PHR.
AllOne Mobile will soon be connected to Microsoft® HealthVault™ personal health record (PHR) system enabling subscribers to share health information about themselves and family members with physicians, hospitals, emergency care facilities, and other trusted third parties.
According to a report on mHealth by Chilmark Research, there are already a number of mobile health apps on iTunes ranging from PHR-lite apps to more robust mobile products like MyLifeRecord, iChart EMR, and Epocrates.
Mobile technologies will contribute significantly to the revolution in health care over the coming decade and will change the daily business practices of health care organizations and enhance how they provide patient care.
References/Links
- HealthcareGoesMobile - http://www.healthcaregoesmobile.com
- MobileHealthWatch - http://www.mobilehealthwatch.com
- mHealth Alliance - http://www.unfoundation.org/global-issues/technology/mhealth-alliance.html
- mHealth Initiative - http://www.mobih.org
- FierceMobileHealthcare - http://www.fiercemobilehealthcare.com
- MobileHealthNews - http://www.mobihealthnews.com
- Wireless Healthcare - http://www.wirelesshealthcare.co.uk/
Have you used an mHealth solution of any sort? Let us know of any mHealth systems you would recommend, especially any 'open source' mHealth solutions.
