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What is this writer talking about? I haven’t seen much of anything out of mHealth to date.

The truth is – big medicine has fought every bit of innovation in home care tools for patients. Physicians and big medicine insist on maintaining “control” over our health, even if that comes in compromises to patient outcomes. As a result, mHealth will be hard-pressed to play much of any significant role in care, until the free markets can command more emphasis in prevention and restructure our “profit” model where profit can be realized thru outcomes, vis a vis prevention.

I and others see the best application of mHealth in home care tools and prevention, as well as in integration of EHR across multiple IT platforms.

You want to shake up U.S. medicine? Put a financial incentive on taking responsibility for your own health. A tax credit for maintaining target body weight, exercise levels, and diet. This would also go a long way in mitigating much of the alcohol and prescription drug abuse in this country.

“I haven’t seen much of anything out of mHealth to date.”

Stephen, mostly good thoughts all around. If you pay attention though, care providers (”big medicine” as you call some of them) have been working with mHealth companies — as have payers and pharma companies. What’s more, the federal government has been prodding CMS to reimburse for some connected health services.

There have been a number of important — all be them small steps — during these past few months. I don’t blame you for not tuning in until reimbursement is in place or the cost structure of the US healthcare system dramatically changes, but if you think this isn’t a conversation worth having until then, then you will be hard-pressed to play much of a significant role in the mobile health industry.

@Stephen

For evidence of mHealth that’s here already:

http://mobihealthnews.com/4027/successful-mhealth-applications-are-already-here/

“I haven’t seen much of anything out of mHealth to date”

It might be an idea to look to more advanced mobile markets first. Most hospitals and clinics here in Ireland are using SMS with their patients, in the UK the NHS Direct Service (a nurse led call centre) runs though a budget of $200 million per annum – mobile originating calls are a significant and rapidly increasing slice of their business.

Big medicine in USA fights innovation in just the same way that Big Telecom fights it: but haven’t you seen the way upstarts can rewrite the way things work? Check out how Apple (an unproven mobile handset manufacturer) made the mobile operators sit up and comply: some refer to their AT&T relationship as “the tail wagging the dog”.

Have you ever considered how mHealth can thrive through the adversity of not being a part of the “controlled” system you refer to?

I don’t share you pessimism that everyone needs a “financial incentive” before they can start “taking responsibility for your own health”.

Thank you for the feedback David Doherty in Ireland.

Sorry if I sounded to negative. But my professional and personal dealings with U.S. health care have boiled over recently. I did an elaborate neurological consult and monitoring for a patient from Johns Hopkins, and his physicians refuse to read my report. I’ll be posting it to my web site this week.

I combined neurocare and integrative medicine in my report, based upon a 1997 AI hydrocephalus program I created – that could be made as an app for a mobile phone today. I also just underwent my 8th brain shunt surgery in February. Clearly, a non-invasive app like my DiaCeph Test, like the Impact Test for post concussion monitoring, is the most sensitive and available means to monitor shunt assessment and patient status. I’ve had too many CT scans, way too much radiation exposure, and it’s only useful as a pass/fail decision to surgery.

Here’s the link on my DiaCeph Test:

http://www.dollecommunications.com/DiacephPatent.htm
SEE also http://www.dollecommunications.com/hydrocephalus.htm

Stephen Dolle
Neuroscientist & Intuitive (Yes – I’m coming out)
Drum Circle Facilitator & Communications Consultant
8 Brain Shunt Operations (since 1992); Directed 3 of last 4
Newport Beach, California

Thanks for the post Brian, this is very encouraging news for the mobile healthcare industry! The physicians we’ve been working with here at Globaltel Media overwhelmingly agree that medication/rehabilitation reminders, appointment reminders and scheduling services are the top priorities for their patients and practices. This is just the tip of the mHealth iceberg though, as technology advances and more agencies like the CDC realize the potential gains of mHealth, we are sure to see some very interesting implementations. Thanks again for the article!