mHIMSS on the road

David Collins

The 2013 International CES offered insight into the latest consumer-focused electronics, lots of accelerometers and related devices. Paul Jacobs of mHIMSS 5 Bar member Qualcomm discussed the "Born Mobile" generation. Verizon, also an mHIMSS 5 Bar member, showcased its Smart Slippers; each slipper's sole is fitted with pressure sensors, an accelerometer and a ZigBee communications device to monitor a patient as he or she walks. 

CES' Last Gadget Standing as well as the Apps Showdown were standing-room-only events, which included five-minute presentations to demonstrate a product or app and an applause meter to decide winners.

Healthspot had an interesting exhibit  -  basically, a "minute clinic," not staffed by a nurse practitioner but by a medical assistant, with telehealth technology to enable patients to interact with providers remotely. Patients use diagnostic equipment and interact with the provider remotely; if the patient needs assistance with the diagnostic equipment, in steps the medical assistant.

UnitedHealth Group and OptumHealth had a very large booth, promoting health and wellness, with an active "Just Dance" contest that took place throughout the day. Various "stations" throughout the booth promoted the various ways that UnitedHealth members could engage in their own healthcare through technology-based educational resources.

From Las Vegas to San Francisco, Health 2.0 provided the opportunity to hear how incubators and entrepreneurs are breaking into the healthcare space to provide mobile solutions and their need to hear from mHIMSS to provide insight into what ONC, CMS, FDA and FCC are doing to shape the mHealth space.

While out in San Francisco, the opportunity to tour Kaiser Permanente's Garfield Innovation Center became available  -  another great opportunity to see advances in mobile health technology.

Without taking a breath, a trip back to the East Coast afforded the opportunity to present on an mHealth panel to the National Capital Area Chapter meeting.

Virginia Advocacy Day, hosted by the Virginia Chapter of HIMSS, provided the opportunity to hear from Debbie Condrey, CIO of the Virginia Department of Health, for the latest in health information exchange in Virginia, and from Aneesh Chopra, the former U.S. Chief Technology Officer, who shared health IT progress and trends and highlighted "Blue Button for Virginia" (House Bill 1873). 

We also had the opportunity to visit the Johns Hopkins University Health System to learn more about their advances in mHealth, integration of mobile technologies into their health system, its public health implications, tech transfer and their telehealth program.  

David Collins, MHA, CPHQ, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, is the senior director of mHIMSS, the mobile initiative of HIMSS.  He has been on more than 30 site visits assessing HIMSS Davies Award candidates and is past liaison to the HIMSS Patient Safety Quality Initiative. He is a 2012 Baldrige Award Examiner.