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The latest technology to significantly improve healthcare might not come in the form of a multi-million dollar computer system. Recent research has proven smartphone apps can be used for more than a good game of Angry Birds -- in fact, they're revolutionizing the way doctors diagnose, nurses interact and patients receive treatment.
Clarimed, a new healthcare rating agency offering independent information and reference tools, has launched its new online service at the Health 2.0 conference. The site features analytical insights into medical devices, diseases, procedures and manufacturers.Founder and CEO Nora Iluri points out that other industries with complicated products, such as cars and mutual funds, have rating agencies - JD Powers and Morningstar, respectively - that provide information and ratings to help inform consumers, professionals and institutions.
They might be late to the Health 2.0 party, they said. However, a panel of employers and healthcare insurers at the Health 2.0 conference on Monday made it clear they are ready to play.
"Health 2.0 has the promise to change the healthcare industry," the conference's opening keynote speaker Mark Smith, president of the California HealthCare Foundation, told the audience on Monday. Smith also asserted that health reform is necessary for innovation and vital to the success of Health 2.0 entrepreneurs' business model because the current system is set up to pay for volume.
A number of heavy hitters in the healthcare field are joining forces with the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights to launch an initiative aimed at providing medical reference and decision support technology to underserved regions around the world.
Practice Fusion debuted a prototype Tuesday of its native iOS mobile application for the iPhone at the Health 2.0 conference in San Francisco.Practice Fusion currently has iPhone and Android applications in private beta testing. Company officials say the app marks another step in the company's aggressive mobile strategy.
Online community support holds great promise for creating healthy habits, according to a new study of a mobile health application geared toward helping people quit smoking. The study results were released by the University of Southern California's Institute for Communication Technology Management (CTM) and the USC Center for Body Computing (CBC).