An iPhone app from McLean, Va.-based vendor Vignet that controls wireless home health monitoring devices is the first Apple iOS product to meet Continua Health Alliance interoperability standards. It also is the first software product of any kind to incorporate Continua guidelines for interoperability of mobile applications over wide-area networks.

Continua on Monday announced that the Vignet iPhone Mobile Manager has earned organizational certification that the app connects with Continua-certified personal health devices such as weight scales, pedometers and blood-pressure monitors. Information on the Continua website shows that Vignet actually earned the certification on Jan. 31, and the alliance notes that the vendor showed its certified app last week at Continua's Spring Summit in Austin, Texas.

"We are delighted to recognize Vignet as the first company to have a Continua-certified product for Apple iOS mobile devices based on our WAN guidelines," Continua Health Alliance Executive Director Chuck Parker says in a statement. "It is another important step in creating an ecosystem of compatible devices and technology to help individuals and their healthcare providers better manage their health and wellness, anytime, anywhere."

For the purpose of healthcare delivery, Continua defines a WAN as a telecommunications network that handles secure data transmission securely between local-area networks so devices can communicate with medical records repositories such as electronic health records and personal health records.

Now that it has certification, Vignet can use the Continua logo in iPhone Mobile Manager and in marketing communications for the app. “With Continua certification, device manufacturers and solutions providers know that our Mobile Manager is going to link up,” Vignet CEO Praduman Jain says.

"Now Continua connected health solutions can be rapidly adapted to work on a variety of servers and devices, saving developers significant development time. We are pleased to support the use of mobile phones in providing readily available and convenient personal connected health solutions to improve patient self-management and wellness," Jain adds.

See this graphic for an illustration of how Vignet views interoperability on its platform.