{"id":721,"date":"2014-03-05T16:01:44","date_gmt":"2014-03-05T21:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/n2value.com\/blog\/?p=721"},"modified":"2018-02-02T07:01:59","modified_gmt":"2018-02-02T12:01:59","slug":"mhealth-what-is-the-path-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/n2value.com\/blog\/mhealth-what-is-the-path-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"mHealth – what is the path forward?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m only getting started in learning about the mHealth community and applications. \u00a0But from the (limited) amount I can gather about this somewhat distributed ecosystem, it seems to be this:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Lots of mHealth Apps out there. \u00a0<\/span>
\n2. \u00a0Many designed without serious clinical input (i.e. mediocre or wrong information)<\/span>
\n3. \u00a0Many designed without attention to UI (user interface) or UX (user eXperience).<\/span>
\n4.\u00a0 No connectivity to patient records = a failure of design.<\/span>
\n5. \u00a0Few real users.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we\u2019re not seeing a ton of mHealth apps exploding on the marketplace and multiple IPO\u2019s. \u00a0Perhaps I\u2019m being a bit harsh here, as we just might be early to the game. \u00a0But\u00a0 the end result?<\/span><\/p>\n

Problems:<\/span>
\n1.\u00a0 No one wants to PAY for wellness. \u00a0And\u00a0<\/span>more concerningly, there is no evidence that wellness works\u00a0<\/span><\/span>(1)<\/span>
\n2. \u00a0Poor UI\/UX, as described above. \u00a0<\/span>
\n3. \u00a0No integration into patient portals or hospital EHR\u2019s for the majority of users. \u00a0<\/span>
\n4. \u00a0Data from apps not readily available to providers.<\/span>
\n5. \u00a0No data from application to show that it is useful to clinicians.<\/span><\/p>\n

Specifically targeting point #1 – aside from the motivated quantified health folks, how do we get the right app into the hands of the right people? \u00a0From my point of view, a progressive vertically integrated system – insurer – hospital – provider all rolled up into one – could target (hotspot) an area of cost excess or refractoriness in meeting ratios or a MU requirement. \u00a0Then, BUY the app & developers. \u00a0INTEGRATE it into the systems EMR in a way that the providers feel is useful and that should give a triple aim result. \u00a0Then DISTRIBUTE it to your hotspot in such a way that group members are motivated to use it & TRACK the results. \u00a0Win-win for everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n

At\u00a0 HIMSS 2014, the bulk of the discussion of mHealth was on mobile data management to meet HIPAA compliance. \u00a0Sensible, but suggests that the critical mass for actual clinical applications is not there, despite recent FDA liberation of rules for health apps. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Source: Reuters, RAND corp.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

(1)<\/span>http:\/\/www.dol.gov\/ebsa\/pdf\/workplacewellnessstudyfinal.pdf<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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