The Current and Future State of Mobile Health

Author: Wendy Thomas, Mobile Health Expo

It is an exciting time to be involved in both the mobile and health care industries. Health reform and the push for electronic health records (EHRs) are impacting health care in unprecedented ways. The promise of an all-electronic office without paper may be a utopian ideal, but technology — particularly mobile – is impacting more than just the back-office administration of health care. Innovation abounds because of the convergence of mobile technology and healthcare. Not a day goes by that I don’t read an article about an extraordinary use of mobile technology in a health care setting that simply wasn’t possible five years ago. In the inaugural Mobile Health Expo event this October in Las Vegas, we will look at the market drivers that are influencing mobile health, and explore what mobile health means for the patient, medical provider and technology provider.

The Internet has given patients access to a plethora of medical information. Mobile health brings not only empowers patients to take control of their health, but also better access to providers. With the ubiquity of cell phones, patients don’t have to wait to see their doctor. Dr. Neal Sikka of George Washington University is pioneering the practice of diagnosing wounds from patient-generated cell phone images, and he will share his research on the readiness of consumers to adopt a mobile health approach to emergency medicine.

Mobile health gives medical providers new means of disease management, patient communication, and health care delivery to patients who are often neglected in the health care system. Mobile health is all about health inclusion, and how to reach populations that are at risk, live in remote areas and/or have limited economic means. We have an expert panel of authorities on telemedicine in emergency settings that were directly involved in emergency response in Haiti after the devastating earthquake.

Security and privacy are mission-critical requirements for medical providers and their patients. How do technology providers address these fundamental concerns? We’ll hear from American Hospice and how they incorporated mobile devices into their day-to-day operations while keeping privacy and security in check.

Our mission for Mobile Health Expo is to bring together all constituents interested in advancing the technology, business, policy and medical landscape for the entire mobile health ecosystem. We welcome you to join us in what will be the first of many events discussing the impact on the delivery of global healthcare as a result of the converging mobile and health industries.