This was the year that the world’s biggest and most powerful IT companies ratcheted up their focus on healthcare — all with a particular emphasis on mobile technologies.
It’s only natural, then, that phrases like “game changer,” “paradigm shift” and “market disruption” were bandied about frequently. Perhaps even a little overzealously, given that the likes of Apple, IBM, Google and Microsoft are really just starting to develop products and it's too early to tell exactly how impactful they may or may not ultimately be.
But it wasn’t just the big names that drew mHealth News readers’ interest. Among the more practicable advancements for clinicians are mobile apps for evidence-based medicine, new telehealth payment codes from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and sensors collecting population health data.
Here, then, are the 10 most popular mHealth News stories of 2014.
1. 10 mobile apps for evidence-based medicine: Engineered to help physicians make better decisions at the point of care, this crop of mobile apps can essentially save doctors from compiling such evidence themselves by poring over abstracts and medical journals, thereby enabling them “to consider more comprehensive diagnosis possibilities and treatment options.”
2. CMS boosts telehealth in 2015 physician pay schedule: No surprise that this story resonated with readers since it’s all about the money. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services gave health systems and telemedicine proponents not just seven codes that cover payments for remote chronic care management but, perhaps most important, considerable hope that it could add to those in 2016 and the ensuing years. On the flip side, however, the new codes bring potential pitfalls, too.
3. 3 trends shaping telehealth: There are more than just three, of course, but mHealth News Editor Eric Wicklund delves into these paramount trends which include the “practical views and natural fits,” driving “a seismic change in the way traditional institutions think about healthcare delivery.”
4. 3 mHealth startups that might make a difference: Amid the flurry of innovation in the realm we call mHealth, it can be hard to delineate between the startups that look quite sexy and those that will actually create a lasting impact on people’s lives. This trio of apps and services have the potential to take mobile health to new heights.
5. Pros and cons of Kaiser’s ambitious mHealth efforts: Having conducted more than 10 million virtual encounters — be that via e-mail, phone or video — Kaiser Permanente is an mHealth frontrunner, boasting a suite of Internet and mobile tools that it designed and delivers to users. Despite a number of success stories, Kaiser and others face myriad challenges and at least one double-edged sword in mobile efforts.
6. Infographic: How Google Fit, Apple HealthKit and Samsung Sami all stack up: See for yourself the similarities and differences among three of the platforms receiving the most attention this year.
7. UPMC improves the workflow for doctors on tablets: The NFL is not the only institution using Microsoft Surface Pro tablets. Take UPMC, for instance. Working in conjunction with Caradigm, Intel and Microsoft, the health system managed to grant doctors single sign-on for switching between applications more easily, enable them to better maintain patient context, and a touch-enabled app that “displays, tracks and reports the series of clinical steps compared against the recommended pathway.”
8. Patient engagement: the unifying link in telehealth: The phrase “patient engagement” was all the rage this year. But there are those who believe that “people in healthcare have not yet figured out how to bridge the gap between technology and care.” That’s part of what catalyzed Phillips to align with salesforce.com to create what the companies claim will be “a secure, scalable platform” that ties EHR, patient-generated data, even devices like Apple’s HealthKit in a fashion that both providers and patients can use.
9. Buyers guide to mobile ICD-10 apps: Particularly now that the massive code set conversion has eluded delay in the so-called Cromnibus legislation, the ICD-10 deadline remains Oct. 1, 2015. And while we’ve all heard that before, it pays to know what your options are come compliance day. This Buyers Guide outlines what to look for in a mobile ICD-10 app and compares 10 of the rated ones, ranging from free to $19.99 — as well as examining some non-rated apps and even a game that coders can try to share with Facebook friends.
10. 3 sensor startups collecting population health data: A look at three of the products in incubation at Startup Health: AdhereTech’s wireless pill bottle, LifeAssist’s watch housing a GPS and a gyroscope, and CarePredict’s room beacon, which enables caregivers to know what patients are doing in real time.
And I’ll even throw in a bonus late-year bloomer: 5 funniest one-liners from the mHealth Summit 2014. Drugs, diarrhea, the incredibly short lifespan of wearables and more of the cracks I heard at this year’s conference.
What was your favorite story of 2014?
