Health, mobile

My takeaway from attending many conferences on <mHealth, wireless health, mobile health> is respect for the tremendous innovation and passion generated, but much of it will go nowhere until becomes part of our health care and health process. mHealth will become Health, which will be increasingly mobile. This sentiment is expressed very well by Charles Huang here who acknowledges others. like Todd Park who have been saying the same thing.

Huang notes that most entrepreneurs are focusing on very narrow fragments of care process, and that this hyper-fragmentation isn't yet denting the colossal, macro problems we face. We need platforms that can tie all the edge devices, sensors and apps into coherent wholes. Qualcomm Life's 2Net platform hopefully is an example of an enabling platform that smooths out the kinks medical device makers face in unleashing their acquired data to clouds to participate in the broader spectrum of care. The good news is that we have the capability to measure an unprecedented amount of body-specific data. The bad news is that we don't really use well the amassed clinical data we have buried in EHRs.

So many convergences, so little time.

I'm looking forward to attending this event in San Diego on January 24th. It will be a convergence of convergences, including the convergence of "wireless technologies, dramatic cost reductions in DNA sequencing, and increased access to health information via websites, blogs and online social networking." The convergence of these technology advances need to be converged (sorry) with the deep-seated challenge posed by chronic health problems. The sheer magnitude of the cost crisis in healthcare will force these convergences. Given the grandiose scope of this subject matter, it will be interesting to see where the panelists go.

unSUMMIT 2012: optimizing BPOC implementations

I'm presenting once again at the unSUMMIT for Bedside Barcoding, this May in Anaheim. My task over the next couple of months will be to compile new information to meet the objectives of this abstract:

An industry veteran will share some of the most critical lessons learned by pioneers of BPOC. The long trail to a safer point of care begins with a solid understanding of the fundamentals. Understanding a bit about the arcane world of barcode symbologies and data structure can guide scanning equipment selection to ensure the right read the first time. “Gotchas” that other organizations have experienced will be covered to highlight the most pertinent multi-disciplinary connections that should be developed very early in the implementation process. BCMA depends upon effective medication identification and can spur a rethinking of the medication management process. Mobile computing is difficult to get right in the nurse’s chaotic, interrupt-driven time-compressed world. What are some key considerations in optimizing your hospital’s mobile computing hardware? The best wireless network implementation is one in which the user never notices the network, and this presentation will round up some critical wireless implementation success factors. A look at RFID and other wireless technologies will help identify the areas of technology to consider now.  This session is designed to outline factors to keep in mind while planning for and executing successful implementations.

no matter what it's called, some form is coming

Although ACO is a dirty word to some of us, the sharing of risk is coming.