Health Disparities

mHealth is more than just a topic, it may represent the key to reducing the digital divide among populations and serves as a catalyst for reducing health disparities around the world. 90% of the world’s population lives within reach of a cell phone signal. Whether it is compliance with medications via text messaging or delivering care to populations outside the reach of traditional care settings, mobile health IT is changing the way the world approaches health care. Mobile technology is a pathway to reduce disparities and promote healthy living regardless of where an individual lives in the world.

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NoMoreClipboard, iMPak Health unveil Health Journals at HIMSS12 February 22, 2012 | Eric Wicklund The journals are designed to collect PHR information and provide a direct portal to clinicians and caregivers – all in a wireless package that's easy to use and unobtrusive  More
 
Philips Healthcare to offer a peek at its Personal Health Book project at HIMSS12 February 17, 2012 | Eric Wicklund Philips is getting ready to beta test its new post-hospital portal for patients, providers and caregivers, and will show off the PHR-like service next week in Las Vegas. The company has also announced a deal with eHealth Global Technologies to help cancer patients gather their records online.  More
 
ONC launches app challenge to aid people with disabilities February 14, 2012 | Bernie Monegain Federal officials say mobile tools can be used to help those with disabilities gain access to their medical records as well as other health and wellness resources.  More
The numbers add up for Teladoc, Rent-A-Center February 14, 2012 | Eric Wicklund In its first year of contracting for telehealth services for all employees, the national retail chain sees savings of more than $700,000 in reduced healthcare expenses and improved productivity – and at least one life saved.  More
Qualcomm announces investment in AirStrip Technologies February 9, 2012 | Eric Wicklund The telecommunications giant, which launched its Qualcomm Life subsidiary at last year's mHealth Summit, is throwing its support behind AirStrip, which creates the technology platform to link physicians via mobile devices to patient data collected in EMRs, at the bedside and through home-based monitoring devices.  More
Ministry St. Clare, Advanced ICU mark six years of telehealth service February 8, 2012 | Eric Wicklund The Wisconsin hospital was one of the first community hospitals in the nation to launch a tele-ICU program in 2006.  More
Boston conference to explore mobile tech's influence on behavior change, healthy lifestyles February 6, 2012 | Eric Wicklund The second annual Healthcare Experience Design Conference, scheduled for March 25-27 in Boston, will bring together a host of healthcare entrepreneurs to discuss how people can be motivated to improve their health and well-being.  More
Massachusetts study shows benefits of virtual coaching February 1, 2012 | Eric Wicklund A step-count study involving 70 overweight people indicates those who used an online coach maintained their level of commitment, while those without access to a virtual coach saw their participation wane.  More
QuantiaMD targets physician burnout with new mobile, online resource January 30, 2012 | Eric Wicklund The social and medical learning community has launched a special interest group to help physicians improve their physical, mental, social and financial well-being -- and thereby improve their interactions with patients.  More
Aetna's anti-smoking pilot program combines dentists, iPads January 27, 2012 | Eric Wicklund The Hartford-based insurer and Columbia University are partnering on a program that would give dentists specially designed iPads to teach patients the dangers of smoking.  More
'Txt4health' program to launch in January in 3 Beacon Communities January 26, 2012 | Eric Wicklund The innovative program, created by the CDC, ONC and American Diabetes Association, will create personalized text messages for people at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in New Orleans, southeast Michigan and greater Cincinnati.  More
Mobile tools help physicians, patients track medication adherence January 23, 2012 | Eric Wicklund Companies like SentiCare, Covectra and Sproxil are using mHealth solutions to identify counterfeit drugs, track medication use at home and provide a real-time link to physicians that can help improve adherence and curb drug abuse.  More
Pharma looks to mobile strategies to effectively reach prescribers February 17, 2012 | Sanjay Pingle It is well documented that the pharma industry is facing many challenges in 2012. Drug makers are losing exclusive patents on drugs that have matured, causing unexpected losses of revenue in the billions of dollars. As a result, companies are cutting costs and significantly reducing their sales force – which in turn creates the new challenge of reaching practices and hospitals with fewer face-to-face office visits.  More
How do we love our mobile devices? Let me count the ways. February 14, 2012 | Edna Boone, MA, CPHIMS How do I love thee? Let me count the ways … 5.6 billion cell phones worldwide  More
WeSprout gives parents a PHR platform for their children January 24, 2012 | Eric Wicklund One of the nagging problems with the adoption of personal health records is the reluctance of the average healthcare consumer to take on the task of launching and maintaining that record.  More
Healthcare has room for many more dreams January 16, 2012 | Edna Boone, MA, CPHIMS Having spent more than 25 years in healthcare, I was compelled to reflect on my experience working in various settings, the health needs of the most vulnerable and the message Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. shared with us almost 50 years ago.  More
Georgia's 'Strong4Life' campaign is harsh, but necessary - now it's time to get mHealth involved January 4, 2012 | Eric Wicklund The campaign, backed by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, uses overweight children to urge Georgians to "stop sugar-coating the problem" and tackle the growing epidemic of juvenile obesity head-on.  More
Does the mHealth movement have an image problem? December 12, 2011 | Eric Wicklund The atrium at the Gaylord Resort in Washington D.C. was brimming with Christmas spirit last week, and teeming with families looking to attend the nearby ice show or meet up with Santa and, for some reason, Shrek. They mingled freely with the thousands of healthcare executives attending the 3rd Annual mHealth Summit at the conference center next door.  More
EMMC's teletrauma unit fills in Maine's rural care gaps September 16, 2011 | Mike Miliard Maine may only be the 39th biggest state, but the northern two-thirds contain vast stretches of forest and fields.  More
VA reverses decision for now on closing rural Maine mobile clinic September 13, 2011 | Eric Wicklund Federal officials have reversed their decision to close a mobile medical clinic for veterans in rural Maine, saying the issue needs further study.  More
Philadelphia's Temple University uses text messaging to reach underserved communities June 29, 2011 | Eric Wicklund Philadelphia's Temple University School of Medicine is using the modern-day equivalent of the town crier - the cell phone - to reach local neighborhoods with important healthcare information.  More
mHealth system targets HIV, AIDS in Africa April 22, 2011 | John Farrell A new mobile health management system is supporting HIV and AIDS treatment in Lesotho, Africa. Developed and rolled out by Vista Life Sciences, in conjunction with the U.S. President's Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Vista mHealth system lets medical workers ensure quality and continuity of care by using mobile technology to access electronic records for patient assessments and interventions.  More
Open source mobile system to aid developing nations September 28, 2010 | John Farrell Using mobile devices to improve healthcare access in developing countries is an idea society has pinned its collective high hopes upon. Now, a team of student and faculty volunteers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) are taking the idea a step further, leveraging an open source software system that relies on smartphones running Google's Android OS to connect healthcare workers in rural regions with physicians in urban areas.  More
Mobility, race, gender, relationships July 26, 2010 | John Farrell In the U.S., Pew recently reported "African-Americans and English-speaking Latinos continue to be among the most active users of the mobile web. Cell phone ownership is higher among African-Americans and Latinos than among whites (87% vs. 80%) and minority cell phone owners take advantage of a much greater range of their phones' features compared with white mobile phone users. In total, 64% of African-Americans access the internet from a laptop or mobile phone, a seven-point increase from the 57% who did so at a similar point in 2009."  More
mHealth Summit 2011 - Research Track // HIV January 19, 2012 | Foundation for NIH Session presentations describe a range of international and domestic studies examining the effects of mobile health applications for medication adherence to HIV medications, data mining of text messages for evidence of behavior change, and efforts to improve sexual health.  More
mHealth for Development, The Opportunity of Mobile Technology for Healthcare in the Developing World January 3, 2012 | mHIMSS   More
Latinos and Digital Technology, 2010 November 22, 2011 | mHIMSS This study, conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center, evaluates the use of digital technology among the Latino community and compares across various ethnicities. Key findings include the fact that Latinos lag behind other communities in terms of home broadband access but have similar demographic rates of internet and cell phone use.  More
New Horizons for Health through Mobile Technologies November 17, 2011 | mHIMSS The use of mobile and wireless technologies to support the achievement of health objectives (mHealth) has the potential to transform the face of health service delivery across the globe. A powerful combination of factors is driving this change. These include rapid advances in mobile technologies and applications, a rise in new opportunities for the integration of mobile health into existing eHealth services, and the continued growth in coverage of mobile cellular networks.  More
Improving the Health of Hispanics Using Mobile Technology November 17, 2011 | mHIMSS Nearly 50% of Hispanics own a smartphone (compared to 27% for non-Hispanic whites) and a higher percentage of Hispanics (25%) have used their mobile phone to search for health information than non-Hispanics (15%). Hispanics are more trusting of mobile-delivered messages and more receptive to receiving text reminders and health related messages than non-Hispanics. In short, the opportunity for deploying mHealth with Hispanics is immediate and significant.  More
Txt4Health: Using Mobile Health Technology in the New Orleans Beacon Community February 15, 2012 | Anjum Khurshid PhD, MBBS (MD), MPAff The New Orleans Beacon Community is currently using Txt4Health approaches to reduce healthcare costs, improve population health, and enhance patient experiences when engaging in healthy practices. This program assists individuals with diabetes through SMS texting to educate and improve patients dealing with chronic disease.  More
Video Presentations from The 2011 mHealth Summit, December 5 - 7 2011 January 18, 2012 | mHIMSS This webpage hosts all of the video presentations from the The 2011 mHealth Summit, December 5 - 7 2011.  More
60 Minutes Features Autism Apps November 30, 2011 | mHIMSS In its October 23 episode, the CBS News magazine "60 Minutes" reported on software for the Apple iPad and other tablet computers that allows people with autism and other communication disabilities to use the iPad as a communicator. Correspondent Lesley Stahl interviews people with autism as well as family members, doctors and therapists on the benefits these apps have had for many people.  More
Definitions of mHealth January 5, 2012 | mHIMSS A collection of mHealth definitions from key healthcare organizations.  More
Glossary of Terms February 6, 2012 | mHIMSS   More
mHealth: FROM SMART PHONES TO SMART SYSTEMS January 31, 2012 | mHIMSS Click on the book cover to preview a chapter from the new book mHealth: FROM SMART PHONES TO SMART SYSTEMS  More
Johns Hopkins University Global mHealth Initiative December 8, 2011 | mHIMSS The Johns Hopkins Unviersity Global mHealth initiative is a universitywide community of excellence, connecting faculty, staff and students in transdisciplinary collaborations in the field of mobile health. JHU GmI serves faculty, staff and students at Johns Hopkins, as well as global public and private sector partners, in identifying appropriate mHealth strategies for global health challenges and providing expertise in technology development, health content, efficacy research and program evaluation.  More
accesswireless.org November 30, 2011 | mHIMSS We want wireless to be available to everyone and with so many choices in phones and services, we created this site to be a "first stop" for consumers with disabilities to search for accessible wireless products and services. Wireless manufacturers and service providers continuously update their products with more accessible features and services to fit your needs.  More
A-Prompt Project November 30, 2011 | mHIMSS Web authors can use A-Prompt to make their Web pages accessible to people with disabilities. The A-Prompt software tool examines Web pages for barriers to accessibility, performs automatic repairs when possible, and assists the author in manual repairs when necessary.  More
.NET Accessibility Analysis Kit (NAAK) November 30, 2011 | mHIMSS The .NET Accessibility Analysis Kit (NAAK) is designed to allow compliance with the US Rehabilitation Act, Section 508. This law lays out several web development guidelines to ensure web applications are accessible by people with disabilities. Most of the guidelines apply to blindness, but others apply to deafness, color-blindness, motor impairments, and epilepsy.  More
HHS Text4Health Projects November 28, 2011 | mHIMSS The rapid proliferation of mobile phones and text messaging offers unprecedented opportunities to potentially improve the health of the U.S. population and reach traditionally underserved groups. The Task Force identified innovative health text messaging programs that currently exist or are currently in development. Below are descriptions of these programs. This list is not comprehensive, but highlights key HHS activities in health text messaging and mobile health.  More
Mobile Enterprise: Wireless Solutions from the C-Suite to the Field, (mobileenterprise.edgl.com) November 23, 2011 | mHIMSS Wireless and Mobile whitepaper library  More
Small Grant Program - mHealth Tools to Promote Effective Patient–Provider Communication, Adherence to Treatment and Self Management of Chronic Diseases In Underserved Populations November 17, 2011 | mHIMSS The purpose of this initiative issued by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) and the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) is to stimulate research utilizing Mobile Health (mHealth) tools aimed at the improvement of effective patient–provider communication, adherence to treatment and self-management of chronic diseases in underserved populations.  More
Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Award - mHealth Tools to Promote Effective Patient–Provider Communication, Adherence to Treatment and Self Management of Chronic Diseases In Underserved Populations November 17, 2011 | mHIMSS The purpose of this initiative issued by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) and the Office of Dietary Supplements is to stimulate research utilizing Mobile Health (mHealth) tools aimed at the improvement of effective patient–provider communication, adherence to treatment and self-management of chronic diseases in underserved populations.  More