What is mHealth?

mHealth, enabled by mobile phones and other wireless computing devices (mDevices), is the revolutionary adoption of new communication patterns in healthcare that is stimulating the introduction of Participatory Health. Enabled by mHealth, Participatory Health is transforming healthcare from a physician- and hospital-centric system to one that seeks to connect and coordinate the roles of all health participants, including patients, the wide range of healthcare providers, payers, pharma, wellness providers, and more.

mDevices enable healthcare professionals to communicate better with their colleagues, patients, and others such as payers.

mHealth Application Clusters

Hundreds of Applications and Companies

The mHealth field is huge and it’s difficult to find just the right application for a particular need. To assist, mHealth Initiative (mHI) has identified 12 mHealth

Application Clusters are illustrated in this diagram, and we are developing the mHealth Observatory to provide information about applications within each cluster.

mHealth Initiative invites solution providers to submit descriptions about their mHealth solutions and healthcare providers and others to describe their experiences with mHealth applications. Selected submissions will be posted on mHI’s mHealth Observatory page.

Implementation Experiences

The mHealth Observatory will include users’ mHealth application experiences, ranging from those of single users to those at the enterprise level. Click here if you'd like to participate.

Companies’ Products and Services

The mHealth Observatory will also offer mHealth product and service descriptions submitted by companies. Click here if you'd like to participate.

Learn More About the Application Clusters

We will discuss each of the application clusters in depth. Click on those highlighted below for discussions currently available. And watch for additional cluster discussions.

PATIENT COMMUNICATION
ACCESS TO RESOURCES
Point-of-care documentation
Disease management
Education programs
Professional communication
Administrative applications
Financial applications
EMS applications
Public health
Pharma/clinical trials
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mHealth Initiative will continue gathering data, including categorizing apps into the 12 application clusters we have identified as indicated below.

We invite you to direct us to sources that can help us in our quest to explore the world of mHealth applications: email .

Which Cell Phone Should a Clinician Select?

This is one of the most common questions we receive from doctors and nurses. mHealth Initiative is neutral to products and systems but it may be helpful to follow these seven steps.

Step 1: Do you want to use your mobile phone as an expanded communication device or as a simple cell phone?

The future-oriented clinician already is or soon will be communicating by text, email, and voice through the mobile device, so look for smartphones that offer these communication options in addition to voice. Apps are also important considerations (see Step 6 below).

If you see a mobile phone just as mobile device to receive telephone calls and to call someone when not in the office, consider a simple phone. If you are a senior or other who has problems with either the small keys or the confusing services offered by carriers, consider a system that has been designed to be senior-friendly.

Step 2: System Integration with the hospital or other providers

Check with your hospitals and other provider institutions about their preferences and recommendations. A hospital’s information system may or may not be tailored to one or more specific device or system.

Step 3: Local connectivity: Which carrier is best in your area?

Coverage by carriers varies by state, county, or city. Check which carrier has the best service and rates to meet your needs for voice and data communication.

Step 4: Existing contracts with carriers

Do you have an existing contract with a telecommunications company that you cannot cancel? The cost of such an ongoing agreement may exceed the cost of a new contract with a smartphone that is more to your liking. And we also know of those who find a particular smartphone so attractive that they don’t worry about the wasted money associated with the old contract.

Step 5: Do you use already a mobile device as drug database, for EMR input, or for reference programs?

Many clinicians already use a mobile device (mDevice) to check formularies, for EMR documentation (dictation as well as data entry), or as a reference resource. When considering a new mobile phone, check out its compatibility with your current applications as well as what it offers alternatively.

Step 6: Which apps might you use?

This is probably the most important step. The iPhone alone has almost 2,000 medical applications (called med apps), an overwhelming cafeteria of choices. The main med apps categories are

Drug databases
Medical calculators
Reference programs
Decision support for both physicians and nurses
Documentation tools (EMR entries, dictation capturing, etc.)
Capturing vital signs and health symptom tracking (weight, blood pressure, etc.)
Patient history accessing, managing, and documenting
Learning (continuing educational tools)
Practice tools
Communication managers
Financial tools (coding, eligibility determination, etc.)

Step 7: Considering a new life style?

When selecting a new smartphone, make sure you understand the full potential of some of these mDevices. An mDevice can be personally liberating as in addition to med apps it offers many tools that can make your life easier and even enhance your lifestyle. Here are some examples:

Appointment calendar that reminds you of appointments, deadlines, etc.
Telephone message service that converts the voice message to an email text for easy access and reference.
A camera that allows you to take a quick photo of a patient’s wound, for example, and file it in the medical record
A GPS system that helps you get around town to unfamiliar places locally or when you travel out of town.
A quick weather check on your mobile device that is much easer than on your desktop computer or TV.
A timer for specific activities.
A calculator for converting various units of measure as well as calculating dosages.
Notes and reminders that you can create by speaking into your device
Track sport activities (golf, biking, even yoga)
Read books on your device
Secure online banking with your mobile device
Safely store your passwords and personal information so they are easily accessible to you but not others
Listen to your favorite music when you have a few minutes to yourself

These are just some of the many lifestyle and professional options that smartphones offer. Do not be overwhelmed. Once you start, you will find it fun to add one app after another. And many of them are free or of very low cost.

Blackberry v. iPhone v. others?

We always get the question about the most common smartphones: which is more used by clinicians? Most sources estimate about 60% of clinicians preferring the iPhone. We recommend your going through the seven steps described above for phones you’re interested in and decide for yourself. And don’t overlook that what is today’s hot mDevice may be outpaced tomorrow by something else. The Droid from Google is promising and it is worthwhile to keep checking it. The Apple iPad may change some people’s preference for a working tool to be carried around. Stay posted…

New Communication Patterns

What are new communication patterns in healthcare?

The notion that doctors and patients only communicate when the patient visits the doctor is dying. In our society at large, communication between businesses and customers has changed drastically: How often do you speak with your banker? How often do you discuss your next flight with a travel agent? Communication patterns between patients and clinicians are poised to change, as is communication among clinicians and with other professionals such as pharmacists and health insurers.

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