Q2 2010: State of the mobile health industry

Thursday - July 29th, 2010 - 07:31am EST by Brian Dolan | | | | |  |

Brian Dolan, Editor, MobiHealthNewsApril, May, June. These months are typically a time for rebirth, regeneration and springing forth from the winter doldrums. While the mobile health industry certainly made strides during the second quarter of 2010, we didn’t see too many corners turned or any obvious watershed moments. That said, there were highlights. Here’s a shortlist of four contenders, do any measure up as “watershed”?

A mobile handset maker welcomed an app into its appstore that works with a Bluetooth-paired medical device.

A US mobile carrier inked a deal with a home health company that could shape its mobile health strategy from here on out.

The FCC popularized the term “eCare” to describe the mobile and connected health realm of devices and services.

Oprah Winfrey launched a health-related mobile app.

OK. Maybe some were bigger deals than others, but overall the second quarter of 2010 sure felt like a time of gathering druthers. More prep. Working toward a future launch. Venture capital continued to trickle into the space and inked deals or partnerships among the industry players remained consistent.

For our second quarterly report MobiHealthNews compiled news from the past three months and grouped industry highlights into sections based on the prime actor: Payers, mobile carriers, care providers, pharma companies and more. We’ve assembled the venture capital deals and dozens of announced JVs, deals and partnerships between mobile health organizations and startups.

Head over to our Research section for more on our new Q2 2010 Mobile Health Report.

Revisiting Ten Aging in Place Trends

Thursday - July 29th, 2010 - 06:20am EST by Brian Dolan | | | | | | | | | | |  |

By Laurie Orlov, Founder, Aging In Place Technology Watch

It’s been more than 6 months since this blog post about tech trends that would influence product capability in 2010.  It seems fitting to check status on what’s happened so far, with another status check planned just prior to the new year:

1. Location-aware tech enables more info, greater safety. GPS became even more useful in 2009. Verizon replaced its Chaperone service with Family Locator, The Alzheimer’s Association introduced its ComfortZone (powered by OmniLink), several other tracking technology vendors launched, and location-based mapping and direction technologies, 2009 was a good GPS-enabled year.

UPDATE: MobileHelp, ActiveCareGPSMed, and Qualcomm/AMAC entered, found resellers or launched initiatives — but it is still early — this trend may fizzle in favor of usable cell phones with GPS tracking and senior-appropriate call centers (today the Jitterbug J sends location with 911 calls).

2. Home automation technology vendors see possibilities. Just as home remodelers see possibilities in aging-in-place retrofits (70% of NAHB builders in 2009), in a bad economy, home automation vendors also saw possibilities in the market.

UPDATE: Caregiver Systems by HomeControlsCloseBy Networks tailor home automation systems for seniors — other vendors are in process of launching systems — more on the way.

3. Mobile health app possibilities grow. Mobile web usage during 2009 got a growth spurt from boomers and seniors — and spawned new apps like LiveNurse from Jitterbug. According to Gartner, mobile health applications (along with location-based apps) are in the top 10 application growth areas for consumers.

UPDATE: Explosive interest receiving a boost from smart phone growth (see gazillion iPhone health apps) and interest from healthcare providers. However, as for senior participation in mobile health apps, there is an adoption gap.

4. Virtual doctors’ visits and other health innovations. A quiet revolution is happening in health care delivery, from shared doctor visits, the video doctor ‘virtual visit’, and health care without the doctor — tracking and transmission of self-test results — like blood coagulation levels. And this is before passage of any health care bill! Memorable from the NY Times article: “The only constant is change and resistance to change.”

UPDATE: This one is inching along, depends on two factors: the first is  reimbursement and insurance enthusiasm, underway in this NY State example. And doctors have to want to participate — apparently, 40% of them now do.

5. Touch screens and eReaders. Touch screens became ubiquitous during 2009 for product demonstration computers used to demo software — like the Asus EEE, for example. And eReaders – particularly well-suited to the boomer/senior population saw the impressive Sony with touch screen as alternative to the Kindle.

UPDATE: No need to belabor the eReaders, which have become quite popular, along with the eReader capabilities in the ever-so-famous iPad and the downloadable free eReaders. Maybe the swipable iPad, iPhone, etc. have made the touch screen an expected feature in tablets and phones – touchscreen shipments, no kidding, are expected to increase by 5000% by the end of this year. Continue >>

CVS Caremark PBM members go mobile

Thursday - July 29th, 2010 - 05:04am EST by Brian Dolan | | | |  |

CVS Caremark iPhone appCVS Caremark launched a free iPhone app this week that lets anyone with an iPhone look up drug information in its database, but if the user is a CVS Caremark PBM (pharmacy benefits manager) member the app gets much more useful. Once “logged-in securely” to their existing Caremark account, users can refill prescriptions, check prescription order status, view prescription history, check drug cost, find a nearby network pharmacy, and FastStart, which enables users to request a new prescription from their iPhone.

I wonder how users of the new CVS Caremark iPhone app log in to their accounts “securely” from their iPhones?

It’s also curious that CVS Caremark launched this app exclusively for iPhone users, especially considering it’s much smaller PBM competitor Walgreens recently launched a text message powered service for prescription reminders (which means the vast majority of its customers can take advantage of the mobile health service), and also relaunched their iPhone app and mobile browser optimized website: m.walgreens.com.

While I can’t find a similar text message powered service for CVS Caremark customers on the company’s site, they do make it clear that their website is mobile browser optimized too and enables users of any browser equipped phone to perform the same tasks that the new CVS Caremark iPhone app enables.

PBMs going mobile: A fast-moving trend worth keeping an eye on.

More from the CVS Caremark release here.

Samsung senior phone’s “medical” services

Wednesday - July 28th, 2010 - 11:16pm EST by Brian Dolan | | | | | |  |

Samsung HavenThose in the market for a “senior-friendly” phone just got another option: Samsung’s Haven, available to Verizon Wireless subscribers as of today. The Haven features a dedicated In Case of Emergency (ICE) button, adjustable fonts to make it easier to read text on the phone’s screen, speech recognition software and well-being and medical management tools.

The well-being and medical management tools apparently consist of “reminder alarms,” “fitness guide” and “stress relieving music.” Not exactly a comprehensive suite of mobile health services, but perhaps fairly representative of the majority of health and medical smartphone apps intended for use by consumers/patients and available in app stores today.

Here’s the pitch for the phone on the Verizon online store site: “The Samsung Haven makes it easy to speak, hear and be heard. Featuring a slim design and large keys for easy dialing, the Haven is ideal for anyone seeking a phone that’s easy to use. One–touch access to emergency numbers, voicemail, speakerphone and voice commands offer effortless execution, and built–in lifestyle applications like reminder alarms, fitness guide and stress relieving music are perfect for maintaining and organizing an active lifestyle. With such manageable features, the Haven is the right phone for those who want the easy life.”

Jitterbug’s phone services for seniors, which runs on Verizon Wireless’ network by the way, offers a growing list of health and medical services for its subscribers: Live Nurse, Heart Healthy Tips, Wellness Calls, 5Start Emergency (PERS coming in the fall). It has also tinkered with a diabetes management service (D-Coach by WellDoc) and a Medication Reminders service with Meridian Health. (more on Jitterbug’s services here.)

Check out the Samsung Haven phone over at Verizon’s site

Humana, WellPoint: Video chats, wireless tracking

Wednesday - July 28th, 2010 - 10:56pm EST by Brian Dolan | | | | | | |  |

Ideal Life Bodymanager ScaleThe Wall Street Journal published a feature on wireless health services and devices that payers across the country are currently piloting, including a note that in January Humana “will launch a program to track heart patients’ vital signs wirelessly and link them up via video to chat with nurses if appropriate.”

Perhaps the most interesting trend highlighted in the WSJ report is video chats coupled with wireless monitoring: “Both Humana and WellPoint are incorporating video-chat into their approaches to connect members more closely with nurses.”

The WSJ report also mentions a congestive heart failure (CHF) pilot Anthem Blue Cross is running with Ideal Life’s connected weight scale. We first wrote about this pilot back in January (more here.)

The report also mentions a program that Aetna is conducting with Intel for CHF patients — we first wrote about this pilot last month after the companies presented results from the pilot at the America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) conference (more here).

Finally, the report makes mention of a program in New York City that equips patients at home with a scale, blood-pressure cuff and glucose monitor that collects data daily via wireless or landline. The program is run by New York City Health and Hospitals and sounds a lot like the program that group launched in 2006: House Calls.

Read on for more from the WSJ report (sub. req.)

Hitachi’s new fitness device: Life Microscope

Wednesday - July 28th, 2010 - 10:26pm EST by Brian Dolan | | | | | |  |

Hitachi Life MicroscopeMaybe the translation is off on this one, but Hitachi’s contender for the growing fitness monitor device market is called “Life Microscope.” It’s a watch-like device the user wears around the wrist. Like most of the other offerings on the market it makes use of accelerometers to detect the user’s activity levels. Hitachi unveiled the new device at an exhibit in Tokyo this week, according to a report in Akihabara News.

Medgadget wonders if the wristworn device will be as accurate as others on the market since it’s attached to a limb: It “raises the question whether arm movements can fool the device into thinking that the whole body is moving.”

Fitbit, a wireless-enabled, fitness and calorie tracking device became commercially available last September. The device, which is small enough to clip on to the user’s clothing, uses an internal motion detector to track the wearer’s movement, sleep and calorie burn during both the day and night. The device costs $99.

According to a review by the New York Times’ David Pogue, Philips’ DirectLife device is not as “cool-looking” as Fitbit: “The DirectLife, from Philips… doesn’t have the wireless transfer, either; instead, every so often, you snap it magnetically into its USB docking cradle/charger connected to your Mac or PC. And it’s not as cool-looking; the DirectLife is a white, flat, one-inch square plastic doodad that you can wear on a neck cord under your clothes, carry in your pocket or slip into a belt pouch.”

For more on Hitachi’s Life Microscope, read this article from Engadget or this one from Medgadget