Book review: A common sense approach to enabling mHealth

As mHealth continues to be over-hyped by those in the healthcare and mobile communications industries, “mHealth From Smartphones to Smart Systems” might be the antidote needed to inject some reality into all the hype.
 
While not available for review at the time of this post, the book’s editors and HIMSS offered a sneak preview into some of the areas covered. The book is a proverbial ABC on how to enable mHealth, from the device to the application or service to the IT infrastructure required enhancing the quality of healthcare while decreasing costs.
 
“For mHealth initiatives to be successful in the U.S., we quickly need to close the gap of understanding that exists among the players in the government, the mobile sector and the healthcare industry,” said Andy Castonguay, principal analyst for handsets and devices with Informa Telecoms & Media. “This book’s diverse contributors provide just such a vehicle to push that national conversation in a meaningful and productive direction.”
 
Contributing editors come from all walks of life – academia, government, healthcare, tech and telecom – to offer first hand examples on “how to implement” successful mHealth programs or services. Education, training and a clear understanding of the importance for all those in the healthcare ecosystem to embrace mHealth are highlighted as mobility disrupts the traditional workflow. 
 
In addition to the expert advice offered throughout the book, it includes several case studies that outline the opportunities and obstacles for implementing a successful mHealth program, addressing issues on security and privacy, compliance, developing a business model, crafting an mHealth strategy and, of course, the future of mHealth.
 
The book is now available at the HIMSS bookstore.

Click the title mHIMSS: From Smart Phones to Smart Systems for an excerpt from the book

Ritch Blasi is president of MediaRitch, LLC