Mobile Health: Life-Changing Innovations In The Palm Of Your Hand

coachisright.com ^ | AUGUST 12, 2014 | Michael D. Shaw

[jmaroneps37]

The mobile health revolution has been discussed in this column on previous occasions. While it is a cliché to note that people had better start taking ownership of their own health, the tools of mHealth, as it is now called, will prove invaluable to achieve this goal.

Two years ago, at a summit on mHealth organized by the FCC, the term “mobile health” was expanded to include wireless health and e-Care technologies that improve patient care and the efficiency of health care delivery. “e-Care” is the electronic exchange of information—data, images and video—to aid in the practice of medicine and advanced analytics.

This encompasses technologies that enable video consultation, remote monitoring and image transmission (store-and-forward) over fixed or mobile networks. Fortunately, these high-minded definitions are backed up by thousands of useful and inexpensive apps.

What’s more, these apps are cataloged and rated by any number of sources—official and otherwise. Let’s take a look at a few popular mHealth apps…

The CDC Mobile App Touted as putting health information at your fingertips, it features timely news articles and CDC press releases; informs of infectious disease outbreaks currently being monitored by CDC; links to a host of journal articles; and accesses CDC’s podcasts, blogs, and social media.

MyNetDiary Multiple platform comprehensive weight loss software, featuring large food database. Associated mobile apps include diabetes tracking, exercise logging, and an online community.

Period Tracker Self-explanatory. Includes features to track symptoms, moods, notes, weight, and temperature. Complete with charts, calendar, email backup and restore, passcode, and more.

Epocrates

Basic free app provides drug information, drug interactions, pill ID, and formulary. Paid versions add disease information, diagnostic/lab tests, and cross-platform access….

[jmaroneps37]

Now for a little laughter to make the day a bit brighter, the final paragraph of the Ecare home page says the following reassuring words:

"Access to this site is permitted for registered users only. Unauthorized access to confidential, proprietary, and/or written material in this area is a violation of U.S. federal law." - yeah right!

[ConservingFreedom]

While it is a cliché to note that people had better start taking ownership of their own health, the tools of mHealth, as it is now called, will prove invaluable to achieve this goal.

Useful, sure - but "invaluable"?

[webheart]

Sure, now the NSA can have records of my heart rate in addition to the GPS locations of both myself and the woman I am having an extramarital affair with.

[webheart]

Having the latest information is always so important. You can learn that salt is bad, then you can know when they figure out that salt isn’t really bad. Same with fats. You can learn that butter is bad for you, use margarine instead, then when they find out that transfats are bad, you can switch back to butter. You can learn to avoid sugar, and then you can find out that high-fructose corn syrup is bad, and that sugar is much better for you. You can find out that aspirin is a blood thinner, and switch from aspirin to Tylenol. Then when you find out that Tylenol damages your liver, you can switch to Ibuprofen. Later, when you learn that Ibuprofen is implicated in erectile disfunction, you can switch back to aspirin.