mobihealthnews 3.19.09: iPhone 3.0 all about mHealth; Usability, Cost, Design

Interview: Lifescan on iPhone 3.0

We caught up with LifeScan’s Director of Communications Dave Detmers today to discuss the company’s demo at Apple’s event yesterday and flesh out the background story on its Bluetooth-enabled blood glucose monitor that synchs up with the iPhone 3.0 OS. Read on for the full interview.

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Usability, Style & Cost for mHealth

by Karen Katz, Esq.
Dir. Business Dev., Health, Medtech and e-Health at Mintz Levin

“So to stop the computer, I click on “start?” This question from my retired, 76 year old Dad as we go through how to shut down Microsoft Windows for the hundredth time. Yup. It’s counter-intuitive.

With the aging baby boomer population, 259 million cell phone users in the United States and the buzz focused the Obama’s Stimulus Package, the market is likely to see an up-tick in mobile-health applications as a means to make access to healthcare easier and cut costs. The questions: Will companies with these applications get funded? Are these solutions in search of problems? Will saving time ultimately lead to saving money - or is it more complicated than that? What is the value? Read on for the answers.

PillCam now used at Rady Children’s Hospital

If you’re a fan of the television show House, you may have already heard of Israel-based Given Imaging’s PillCam. However, Joshua Devine, a high school sophomore who lives near San Diego, became one of the first to actually swallow the 1-inch long, plastic capsule that contains a tiny wireless camera at Rady Children’s Hospital. Read on for more about this new alternative to endoscopy.

AllOne Mobile: 400,000 pops covered

AllOne Mobile announced today that it’s mobile EHR offering is now available to more than 400,000 potential users thanks to two recent deals. The company inked a deal with Significa Insurance Group (Significa) and Erin Group Administrators (EGA). Significa and EGA members can now securely view, manage and exchange their health care information with physicians, hospitals, pharmacies and other health care providers anytime and anywhere, so long as they have their mobile device handy. Read on for more about AllOne Mobile's new ventures.

Wireless medicine “forces coming together”

American Public Media’s Marketplace radio program had a quick piece on wireless medicine recently that included interviews with a number of doctors. Leslie Saxon, head of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Southern California, said during the program that she would guess there nearly a “half million patients with networked-implanted devices” like wirelessly-connected heart monitors. Read on for more from the program.

Hospital Twitter use to overtake YouTube

Ed Bennet, hospital web manager at the University of Maryland Medical System has kept a running list of social media accounts managed by U.S. hospitals for some time now–his most recent update tracks the popularity of YouTube accounts vs. Twitter accounts. His recent figures show that it took 26 months for hospitals in the U.S. to rack up 100 accounts for the service, while Twitter has only taken about 17 months to reach the same figure. See the stats here.

mHI’s proposal for restructuring around mHealth

Boston-based mHealth Initiative has outlined its proposal for how the U.S. healthcare system could be restructured to save money and increase quality of care by implementing mobiles throughout the healthcare value chain. mHI calls it “participatory healthcare.” Read on for their take on the restructuring that needs to occur over the next decade.

iTriage: Help for negotiating bills

While it’s been available for download for a few weeks, Healthagen just officially announced the launch of its iTriage iPhone app (not to be confused with Triage Wireless). Designed by two Denver-based ER doctors, iTriage aims to help consumers make better healthcare decisions by providing relevant medical info, transparency around quality, and info and access to local healthcare facilities. Read on for more on iTriage.

GE’s 1st portable ECG includes medical texting

The FDA has cleared GE Healthcare’s ECG solution, called the portable MAC 800, which the company says is based on cell phone technology. The device was originally introduced into China’s market last year and will become commercially available in the US during the second quarter. The device includes the keypad of a mobile phone and a full-size color display, which both help doctors or other caregivers to create two-way communication with patients.
Read on.

Classifying the mHealth patient

Health Populi concludes from a recent Deloitte study’s results that people are finding and looking for new ways to manage their health and health care just like they manage the other parts of their lives Read on for more.

Dedicated wireless spectrum for mHealth?

ERBI Medtech and Cambridge Wireless recently published a report that recommended governments consider a dedicated frequency band for medical devices in order to boost confidence and stimulate uptake of wireless technology within healthcare environments. The report consolidated findings and discussions that emerged during a workshop the two firms held to determine issues facing technologists in healthcare environments. Read on for more.