Mobile Health, mHealth Summit, and Clinical Decision Making: Are we on the brink of a watershed event?
11.24.2011 | Blog
Source: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.switched.com/media/2010/10/medical.jpg
The 2011 mHealth Summit is poised to convene in Washington, DC this December 5th-7th. Their Web site is found here. Additionally, a peruse of the iMedicalApps web site is also in order as it identifies not only the latest goings-on in terms of medical widgets on iPhones, iPods and Blackberries, it also causes one to think about the possibilities in practical use.
As is normally the case, one idea begets many more. And, as ideas are put into practical use, they beget far more ideas than was the original intent. I am keeping a close eye on medical applications in mHealth and on consumer appliances because they are just that: consumer appliances. My opinion is that these mHealth applications and devices will be used much more regularly in medical practice in addition to consumer care. They are just too available and too flexible not to take advantage of in this regard. I myself use several applications from the App Store on my iPhone for monitoring heart rate (pulse) and temperature.
Don Casey, CEO of West Wireless Health Institute, was recently quoted in an interview with Brian Edwards (Brian Edwards Oct 26 2011, iMedical Care) as stating:
“…the company…leading the breakout is…Apple. They are taking a consumer-oriented device between the iPhone and the iPad and…are opening a platform for everything from how you manage your weight to how you manage…diabetes…”
The key to clinical use and mHealth, I believe, will involve expanding the capabilities of the platform through the applications available on the App Store to enabling these devices to become more robust. Why do I say this? Well, if I am using my iPhone to measure pulse through pulse oximetry using the LED and camera on the back of the iPhone, I need a way to sterilize or otherwise regularly clean my iPhone between patients in order to minimize transmission of illnesses. Furthermore, I need to establish a practice procedure and guideline that ensures that all in the practice follow this guideline. Also, the price of these appliances must come down to something a bit more affordable for general practice by the PCP. Why? Most Primary Care Providers of whom I am aware are operating very close to margins. They cannot afford to outfit everyone with an iPhone or iPad for the practice–simply too expensive. Plus, as use increases, likelihood of dropping increases. This points to the robustness issue of appliances that are used in the mHealth arena. If these two points can be addressed, then I believe that the Apple iPhone and iPad will be most appropriate for consumer and primary care provider market. It comes down to cost, simplicity, and robustness.
