Technology innovation and health care quality #mHS12

This morning, we also had several presentations focused around technology innovations and health care quality.

Harry Greenspun from Deloitte spoke about our perceptions around health care quality. As always, he was engaging and entertaining as he spoke about the importance of understanding health care ratings on doctors and hospitals. Most patients are not able to rate their doctors about the quality of their providers. They can provide feedback related to customer service, but not necessarily about health outcomes that are measured based on national quality standards. Physician information listed on physician-rating websites is often not accurate. This is true for Harry. It's actually also true for me and many other physicians I personally know. Also, as we develop mHealth innovations that are based on social interactions online, we must be mindful of patient privacy. After all, some patients are very open about their health conditions, but most want their information secured and private.

The next session this morning was titled, "Pushing the Limits of Mobile Health – Can we have Health & Healthcare Without Doctors?" Vinod Khosla, Founder of Khosla Ventures spoke about the evolving role of computers in health care, especially around medical diagnosis. Will doctors get replaced by computers? The discussed the "man vs. machine" debate as it relates to computerized algorithms designed to diagnose diseases. When you consider all the data we get from genomics and proteomics.

Then, Joseph Kvedar, Director of the Center for Connected Health, spoke about the automation of health care from his perspective as a physician. We don't have enough health care providers to manage the global health care burden. So, what types of automated care will we see? He spoke about the IBM Watson at medical algorithmic tasks. He also described an artificial intelligence engine that has a cartoon-based interface for discharge planning. This system interacts with patients and reviews the discharge instructions. His last example was GeriJoy, a digital pet that lives in your tablet and interacts with older patients. Since health care is driven by repetitive, algorithmic tasks, we'll probably find more robots and computers providing some elements of health care in the future.

2012 mHealth Summit Coverage

The 2012 mHealth Summit coverage on Medicine and Technology.com is sponsored by HP. HP’s extensive portfolio of products, solutions, services and relationships can help your healthcare organization achieve quality business practices and provide quality patient care. Follow HP Healthcare on Twitter @HPHealthcare.

Patient advocates playing a key role in mHealth #mHS12

Here at the mHealth Summit, we had a session this morning presented by patient advocates. The speakers were: Donna Cryer, American Liver Foundation, and MaryAnne Sterling, Sterling Health IT Consulting.

The use of mobile technology can empower patients, but these tools can also harm patients if they are not used properly. We heard about that yesterday from Mark Bertolini, CEO of Aetna. He reminded us that health care delivery needs to get easier, be more convenient and engage patients.

Donna Cryer explained how the American Liver Foundation created an "Innovation Council" to identify ways to educate and empower patients. They identified technology solutions that facilitate Hepatitis C testing, medication adherence, peer support, and more. I love the idea of creating an Innovation Council or some other formal group that will focus on the Process of Innovation.

Wearing a "Walking Gallery" jacket pained by Regina Holliday, MaryAnne Sterling began her presentation telling personal stories about patient care. We can all play a key role in the health care ecosystem to improve care coordination. There are digital tools and resources that patients can use to improve medication management and patient-provider communication.

Sometimes clinicians tend to forget what patients don't know. It's easy to forget that most patients don't understand complex medical terminology. They don't necessarily understand how the health care system works. Which long-term care should they choose? How should they shop for home health services? Can they get their medications for less somewhere else?

2012 mHealth Summit Coverage

The 2012 mHealth Summit coverage on Medicine and Technology.com is sponsored by HP. HP’s extensive portfolio of products, solutions, services and relationships can help your healthcare organization achieve quality business practices and provide quality patient care. Follow HP Healthcare on Twitter @HPHealthcare.

2012 mHealth Summit coverage

I'm at the 2012 mHealth Summit and I'll be sharing some of my insights based on the presentations, my interactions with attendees and presenters, my observations in the exhibit hall, and my conversations on Twitter.

I'll be posting content on these 3 sites over the next few days:

http://www.medicineandtechnology.com
http://www.medicalsmartphones.com
http://www.mobilehealthcomputing.com

Follow my Twitter feed for updates: @DrJosephKim
To follow all the tweets from the mHealth Summit, follow the Twitter hashtag #mHS12


2012 mHealth Summit Coverage

The 2012 mHealth Summit coverage on Medicine and Technology.com is sponsored by HP. HP’s extensive portfolio of products, solutions, services and relationships can help your healthcare organization achieve quality business practices and provide quality patient care. Follow HP Healthcare on Twitter @HPHealthcare.

iHealth connected medical devices + MyVitals mobile app

iHealth’s newest iOS connected products, the iHealth Wireless Blood Pressure Wrist Monitor, Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor and Wireless Body Analysis Scale are now publically available for purchase.

iHealth Labs is a pioneering designer and manufacturer of mobile personal healthcare products. iHealth facilitates the easy sharing of health data, allowing medical professionals to better keep track of their patients in between office visits and observe trends and changes over time.

Here's a press release that describes their products:

Convenient New iHealth Blood Pressure Monitors and Body Analysis Scale Now Available for Purchase at Major Retailers and Online
Latest iOS app, iHealth MyVitals, seamlessly brings together health data across devices for comprehensive view of overall health

Mountain View, CA – November 6, 2012 – iHealth Labs Inc., the pioneering designer and manufacturer of mobile personal healthcare products for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, today announced that its latest suite of products will be available for purchase at major retailers and online. The iHealth Wireless Blood Pressure Wrist Monitor, Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor and Wireless Body Analysis Scale are now available at Best Buy and www.ihealthlabs.com, with availability at Apple stores also rolling out this month.

“Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Lifestyle changes such as utilizing an iHealth Blood Pressure Monitor or Body Analysis Scale can help equip users to make informed health decisions to significantly reduce their risk,” said Adam Lin, general manager of iHealth Labs. “By employing these simple to use products which connect with iOS devices to easily show progress, people can vastly improve their health and quality of life.”

I'm speaking at e-Patient Connections 2011 about mobile health #ePatCon

Are you ready to reach, engage, and educate empowered digital health consumers? I'll be speaking at the e-Patient Connections 2011 conference about mobile health. I'm on a panel discussion titled, "Connected Health: 360-Degrees of mHealth." I'll be speaking with Jane Sarasohn-Kahn (THINK-Health), Sandra Elliott (Meridian Health), and Brett Shamosh (WellApps). If you're in Philadelphia attending e-Patient Connections 2011, I hope to see you on Wed at 2 pm.

FDA outlines oversight of mobile medical applications

Agency seeking public input on its proposed approach

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced it is seeking input on its proposed oversight approach for certain mobile applications specific to medicine or health care called mobile medical applications ("apps") that are designed for use on smartphones and other mobile computing devices. This approach encourages the development of new apps, focuses only on a select group of applications and will not regulate the sale or general consumer use of smartphones or tablets.

Telemedicine Defined

Here is how the American Telemedicine Association defines telemedicine:

Telemedicine is the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to improve patients' health status. Closely associated with telemedicine is the term "telehealth," which is often used to encompass a broader definition of remote healthcare that does not always involve clinical services. Videoconferencing, transmission of still images, e-health including patient portals, remote monitoring of vital signs, continuing medical education and nursing call centers are all considered part of telemedicine and telehealth.

Telemedicine is not a separate medical specialty. Products and services related to telemedicine are often part of a larger investment by health care institutions in either information technology or the delivery of clinical care. Even in the reimbursement fee structure, there is usually no distinction made between services provided on site and those provided through telemedicine and often no separate coding required for billing of remote services.

Telemedicine encompasses different types of programs and services provided for the patient. Each component involves different providers and consumers.

It's really exciting to see all the advances in the world of telemedicine. As mobile devices become more powerful, they will become the foundation of telemedicine delivery.

Join me in these CME activities: "Medication Adherence: The Evolving Role of Technology"

I invite you to join me in this series of CME activities: "Medication Adherence: The Evolving Role of Technology"

• Video Roundtable 1: Electronic Health Records to Improve Medication Adherence
• Video Roundtable 2: Mobile Health and Digital Communication to Improve Medication Adherence
• Video Roundtable 3: Social Media to Improve Medication Adherence

Medication adherence remains a persistent and pertinent issue in health care. Nonadherence poses challenges to adequate control of the target condition and often leads to further unnecessary complications. Many of the latest practice management and communication technologies afford clinicians the opportunity improve patient medication adherence.

This online series will focus on:

• How EHR tools and functions can improve medication adherence
• How to use mobile and digital communication to promote medication adherence
• How social media can help you communicate and work with your patient population

We're also having a discussion on Sermo about the topic of "Medication Adherence and The Evolving Role of Technology." If you're a physician, please join us in that online discussion.

IBM Study Identifies New Generation of Connected Health Gadgets

Smaller than a cellphone, futuristic systems will serve as digital coaches and guardians

ARMONK, New York, June 27, 2011 -- Consumers have a growing appetite for health and wellness gadgets and this represents a burgeoning market opportunity for device manufacturers that has barely been tapped, according to a study from IBM. The company also unveiled a list of possible wellness device innovations of the future, which have the potential to change how people live, exercise and interact with their healthcare provider over the next five years.

Increasingly, wellness devices will be used to fill the information gap for consumers that are relatively healthy, but need devices that provide information to help them gain greater control over their conditions and lead healthier lives. These devices will plan, predict and monitor information, feeding it directly to caregivers and clinicians as well as support networks. Users will interact with devices on their own terms, and connect them via broadband, wireless and wireline connections.

Continua Health Alliance

The other day, I was at the Mobile Health Expo in NYC and it was a pleasure to meet Chuck Parker, the Executive Director of Continua Health Alliance.

Continua Health Alliance is a non-profit, open industry organization of healthcare and technology companies joining together in collaboration to improve the quality of personal healthcare. With more than 230 member companies around the world, Continua is dedicated to establishing a system of interoperable personal connected health solutions with the knowledge that extending those solutions into the home fosters independence, empowers individuals and provides the opportunity for truly personalized health and wellness management.

I hope to see you in NYC for the Mobile Health Expo #MHX2011

I'll be speaking this Tuesday at the Mobile Health Expo 2011 in NYC. I look forward to speaking about mobile health and advances in technology that have impacted the world of health care. One of my sessions is titled,  "Mobile Technology in the Continuing Medical Education of Physicians"

More details about the Mobile Health Expo can be found here.

Mobile Startups Showcase at the MIT Museum (Mobile Monday)

If you're in the Boston area, you won't want to miss this Mobile Monday event on May 9:

MoMo Boston May 9: Mobile Startups Showcase at the MIT Museum

Mobile Monday Boston is coming back to the MIT Museum for a night of mobile exhibitions, drinks, snacks, and networking on May 9th. We’ll have dozens of mobile demo booths and multiple cash bars within the museum exhibit halls. Come see the coolest mobile companies and meet new people at the hottest industry.

Date: May 9th, 2011 — 6.30pm to 9:00pm

Location:MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA (Building N51, 265 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge).

Transportation: Red Line Kendall Square. Parking info.

Cost: FREE! Register Here

More information here.