"Can Mobile Health Technologies Transform Health Care?"

Mobile technologies for health care--perspective http://t.co/5Pzf9AEQrl by @SteveSteinhubl and @EvanMuse @ScrippsSTSI @JAMA_current #mhealth
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) October 24, 2013

Medical care anywhere via mHealth. Imaging of blood smears +, virtually anywhere with smartphone microscopy. http://t.co/b1H0RWW6tx #mHealth
— Steve Steinhubl (@SteveSteinhubl) September 23, 2013

Atul Gawande, MD: "Future of Healthcare Requires Constant Reinvention"

"there are multiple obstacles to the acceptance and widespread utilization of mHealth technologies. Foremost are the complexities of the health care system, especially the current drivers of reimbursement. In addition, clinicians are concerned about the possible further weakening of the patient-physician relationship and the possible increase in their workload. Also, and somewhat paradoxically, the unbridled enthusiasm of the mHealth technology development community, coupled with consumers’ appetite for alternative health and wellness resources, can create challenges to the appropriate use and validation of mHealth technologies. For example, there are tens of thousands (estimates vary between 30000 to more than 90000) health care–related apps available for download, in contrast to the US Food and Drug Administration estimate of the approximately 100 it has reviewed. This lack of oversight is worrisome and contributes to the increasingly high likelihood of useless and possibly even dangerous apps being downloaded by unsuspecting consumers. (...) To move beyond that, in this Viewpoint we offer examples of how mHealth technologies can transform health care by addressing inefficient practices and challenges faced by consumers and clinicians in the current system." In: "Can Mobile Health Technologies Transform Health Care?" Authors: Steven R. Steinhubl, MD; Evan D. Muse, MD, PhD; Eric J. Topol, MD.

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleID=1762473