From the Desk of Ghen Sugimoto

mHealth or mobile health is the future of healthcare delivery; bringing the technology to a simplified platform that is accessible from anywhere, is integrated with core devices that we all carry (our mobile phones), and connects into larger systems like InteractiveMD, Google Health, and certified EHR systems. But what is the business model that will support mhealth application development and proliferation? New consumer devices and expanded sales of devices such as the iPad 2, Android and iOS based smart phones has paved the way for meaningful apps and associated specialized hardware devices to make sense. Wireless technologies like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and 4G LTE supply the necessary infrastructure. Additionally, the overwhelming and rising cost of our national healthcare system coupled with an, ‘I want it now’ consumer attitude, will support the economics required to drive mhealth technology. According to a report on FierceMobileHealthCare.com, “there will be 1.4 billion...

Humana and iCan Benefit Group jointly issued a press release this morning announcing a partnership that will make available a new line of discounted products for individual consumer, including dental, vision, and pharmacy products. The agreement establishes the iCan Benefit Group as the primary marketer of these products and will connect Humana with iCan’s national distribution network. iCan will offer the new products through online and TV campaigns, as well as through distribution to large organizations. The two teams have worked hard over the last number of months to build these exciting product offerings. A unique feature about the discount pharmacy benefit is that is being made available to the public at no cost and will represent a 31-50% average saving off prescription drugs at over 54,000 participating retail locations. The official press release can be found at: http://www.businesswire.com/ . These jointly created programs will be combine...

Although telehealth and healthcare IT are by no means novel concepts, at first glance they can appear culturally shifting and disruptive technologies for many users. If you consider telehealth as the modern facilitation of age old practices like the house call or midnight phone call, then it becomes easier to accept as a viable means of connecting doctors and patients. Traditionally, if your child were to awake screaming during the night and you had the luxury of a close family physician; you would call and receive immediate advice resulting in either a home remedy or a trip to the emergency room.  However, using the latest technology, well defined operational work flows and an expert team of telemedicine trained physicians, today’s telehealth consult can be significantly more comprehensive and include video, high definition imagery, electronic health records management, and a historical account of the patient’s health. Whether or not we realize it or not, these advances in healthc...

Last week the FDA approved an iPhone/iPad mobile app that allows physicians to review radiologic images with an appropriate quality for safe diagnosis on their mobile devices. This app allows for secure transmission of CT, MRI, PET, nuclear medicine, and PET images on the go; while adding measurement lines, annotations and highlight areas of interest. Mobile apps are the direction of the future, with manufacturers like Samsung projecting 60 million smartphone sales in 2011 and some top analysts projecting as many as 1 billion smartphone users worldwide by 2013. Let’s face it, the single most used tool in many people’s lives is their smartphone; I know I sleep with mine! The simplified user interfaces and pre-integrated hardware such as high resolution cameras, two-way video camera lens’, speakers, GPS, microphone, and Bluetooth it’s a dream come true for developers with an open mind and a little creativity. Now apply these tools to the medical, health and wellness world and don’t forg...