Dan Coffey

Over the past few years there has been an increasing amount of mobile technologies that enhance the ability to access public health information and improve the delivery of health services to the public at large, as well as to health care professionals.

The ever-diversifying nature of these technologies--and how they are being implemented--was the main focus of the 2011 mHealth Summit session, “The Intersection of Mobile Health and Public Health—Towards Greater Understanding & Collaboration."

Paul Meyer, CEO of Voxiva Inc—a mobile solutions company that offers a range of patient engagement services which incorporate social marketing and evidence-based best practices to their users&mdash;spoke about their latest initiative, Text4baby, a service that utilizes SMS technology on expectant mothers’ mobile phones to deliver pregnancy tips, or postnatal information on caring for the baby. Users can receive this service by texting to a number the word “BABY” for pre-birth tips or “UPDATE” for receiving tips after birth. 

“Over 85% of Americans own a cell phone and 72% of cell users send or receive text messages,” Meyer said. “We created a population-facing preventative health utility.” He went on to add that the service is “The SMS to expect when you’re expecting.”

One of the more riveting topics at the session was "Teens and mHealth," where Yvonne Hunt, Program Director at the National Cancer Institute, spoke about what the organization is doing to help teen smokers quit.

SmokeFreeText, an app that was to launch the day of this presentation, is a mobile cessation utility aimed at helping teenagers access customized information on how to quit smoking. “20% of teens have reported smoking” Hunt said. “More than ½ have said they have tried to quit, but they haven’t used evidence-based cessation to do so.”

Part of a larger NCI initiative called Smoke-Free Team, a website and suite of mobile apps designed for teens that “want to quit smoking,” SmokeFreeText aims to deliver custom tailored messaging by capturing demographic and behavioral information at signup. The service considers data such as age, gender, quit date, and smoking frequency when delivering their messaging.

Additionally, the frequency of the messaging will change over the course of the quit attempt, as well as provide an assessment of the user’s craving level, mood, and smoke-free status.

“Users can text keywords to iQuit at any time for extra support,” Hunt said. “They can also opt-out at any time by texting the word STOP.”

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Over the past few years there has been an increasing amount of mobile technologies that enhance the ability to access public health information and improve the delivery of health services to the public at large, as well as to health care professionals. The ubiquity of cell phones makes SMS text messaging the natural platform to deliver these interventions. 

SMS Continues to Be Most Powerful Tool in mHealth

	National Harbor, MD — This morning’s session 

Harnessing the Power of Social Media and Mobile Technology to Engage Consumers 

at the mHealth Summit was a popular one, and with good reason. Social and mobile strategies in health care are becoming increasingly important and, when combined with gaming strategies, create what was described in the opening address as the "trifecta of effectiveness” when it comes to engaging patients.

Charles Teague, CEO of LoseIt.com, spoke about his LoseIt mobile application--a “behavioral solution” that offers users the chance to enjoy weight loss by establishing easy-to-meet daily calorie budgets; staying on track of food and exercise; and engaging in peer-to-peer interaction with their combination of global and ‘closed’ social networking tools.

“Peer support doubles efficacy” said Teague, adding that social networking “has allowed users to lose 7 million pounds, with the average active LoseIt user dropping roughly 12 lbs.”

Teague mentioned that, though every business model is different, the more established social media sites like Facebook have less of an impact when it comes to Loselt users’ success. Users engaging in more niche, closed environments seem to find it easier to lose weight.

The reason for this undoubtedly comes from the fact that users are more inclined to be active and supportive in a forum where others have the same goal. It’s unlikely that those same users will want to divulge personal information about their weight loss on general social networking sites like Facebook, where they are interacting with a network of people that they know personally. “Users are less inclined to tweet their weight,” Teague said.

Elaborating on the success of their social networking strategy, Teague said that, “when predicting who would stay engaged, we found the majority only had 3 or 4 peers,” adding that “the strongest feature was that it provided pressure to continue that interaction.”

Jonathan Javitt, CEO of Telcare Inc., a company that develops cellular-enabled glucose meters for diabetes patients worldwide, agrees with Teague.  Through the Telcare blood glucose monitoring (BGM) system, a 3G cellular-enabled blood glucose meter transmits glucose values to a care-management server and provides feedback and coaching to patients with diabetes. The electronic device keeps a two-way communication between patients and caregivers.

“Facebook and Twitter, though useful, are not built for quantitative interaction like health apps are going to need to be,” said Javitt. He added that, with HIPAA-protected data, you should be able to remove information unlike with traditional social media networks, where the information is “forever.”

When the subject of social media “gaming” came up, such as the offering users badges and incentives as a way to foster higher levels of interaction, Javitt was quick to point out that, if done the right way, this model can be highly effective.

“As long as people see that badges have value other than pixels on a screen, such as a diabetes-friendly dessert at a local restaurant, then we’ve unlocked a psychological door.”

Teague replied that, in their experience with LoseIt.com, “if offered a piece of pizza or a badge, people generally take the pizza.” 

This morning's session Harnessing the Power of Social Media and Mobile Technology to Engage Consumers at the mHealth Summit was a popular one, and with good reason. Social and mobile strategies in health care are becoming increasingly important and, when combined with gaming strategies, create what was described in the opening address as the "trifecta of effectiveness" when it comes to engaging patients.

Social, Mobile, and Gamification: A Recipe for mHealth Success

death of international pop superstar Michael Jackson

, 2009 was a musical industry tragedy of almost biblical proportions. After all, Jacko had sold in excess of 750 million records worldwide, had sold out concerts spanning several decades, and repeatedly broke sales records (most notably in the 1989 Guinness Book of World Records for $125 million in sales on the critically-acclaimed “Bad” tour). There were also plans for a performance of 50 sold-out concerts to over one million people at London’s O2 arena at the time of his death.

But to his family, friends, and legions of fans around the globe, the events that followed did more than raise a few eyebrows. A subsequent report filed by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office would indicate that the surgical anesthetic 

, in combination with three other sedatives, was repeatedly administered by his personal physician Conrad Murray, the result of which sent Jackson into cardiac arrest and led to his death.

He was discovered at the residence by Murray, who placed a “frantic” call after finding that Jackson was “not breathing” and had a “faint pulse.”

The death, ruled a homicide, resulted in 

 with involuntary manslaughter. A legal expert associated with the case expected a tough case, stating that "everyone loves Michael Jackson, so it will be tough to find a jury without bias."

The trial officially began this past Tuesday, September 27

 and the prosecution began in earnest, claiming that Michael Jackson’s “misplaced trust” in Dr. Murray “cost him his life,” while Murray’s defense maintains that it was Jackson who self-administered the drug because he couldn't sleep, worrying that his “performance would get cancelled.”

Prosecutor David Walgren later countered by saying that "there was no doctor-patient relationship...what existed here was an employer-employee relationship. He was not working for the health of Michael Jackson.  Dr. Murray was working for a fee."

As Day 3 of the trial continued today, testimony shifted and remained focused on what Murray did in the moments before and after paramedics were called for the unresponsive singer.

At the center of the controversy is the drug itself. Propofol--a powerful sedative which has been referred to as “The Milk of Amnesia”--is intended for use only under controlled conditions where vigilant monitoring and airway maintenance is practiced to ensure the safety of patients.

Murray’s own security guard, Alberto Alvarez, who may have supplied particularly damaging testimony implying a cover-up, claimed that Murray had asked him to “collect vials” and “remove a clear saline bag from an IV stand and place it in another bag,” and that at the bottom of the saline bag was "what appeared to me like a milky white substance.” 

That milky white substance is believed to be the propofol, often referred to by Jackson himself as his ‘milk.’ That bag was entered into evidence at the trial.

Day 4 of the trial begins Friday with EMTs and doctors of UCLA Medical Center set to testify. Murray has plead not guilty. If convicted, he could have his medical license revoked and face up to four years in prison.  

Dr. Conrad Murray is on trial for involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson because of the careless use of the sleep-inducing drug propofol. 

Conrad Murray on Trial for Michael Jackson Death; Patient-Physician Relationship Questioned

iMedicalApps editors give you an insider’s look into the competition for the physician’s smartphone

	It's a daunting task for anyone—finding a smartphone that is the perfect fit both in hardware and software. Sifting through an endless sea of features and designs is enough to send anyone’s head spinning.

	For health care professionals looking to adopt these devices in practice and not only put their offerings to good use, but also narrow down the best choices among a vast array of health care-relevant applications or "apps" available, this may lead to further complications. With the Android recently edging out Apple products in the consumer smartphone market within the last year or so (which had previously been an uncontested run since its 2007 launch), we think it is a good time to spotlight the race in the health care sector.

	While a recent study between June 1, 2010 and February 28, 2011 shows that roughly 550,000 healthcare workers—including 400,000 doctors&mdash;are more mobile-friendly than ever due in large part to the increased demand of Bulletin Healthcare's daily mobile news briefings, results show that the iPhone has been garnering the most attention to satisfy the reading habits of health care professionals. However, the Android platform has more than proved to be a worthy opponent and continues to increase its popularity.

	Whether you are a first time smartphone user or are investigating whether to choose a new device, we hope this webinar will help you. Our friends at iMedicalApps will separate fact from fiction and ensure a well-educated decision for health care professionals when it comes time for them to take the plunge.

	This webinar will address the following:

The advantages and disadvantages for clinicians between the iOS (iPhone & iPad) and Android operating systems

The difference between the iTunes and Android marketplaces

Which commonly used medical apps are also available on Android

The future of mobile health for the iOS and Android platforms

Wednesday, July 27 from 12:30-1:30PM (EST)

 to become better informed with the iPhone/iPad and Android, and hopefully educate you on deciding which device is right for you.

In this informative webinar, iMedicalApps editors give you an insider's look into the competition for the physician's smartphone.

Dan Coffey

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