Hospital Corporation of America buys app maker to further mHealth innovation

In its quest to advance adoption and development of mHealth tools, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) is buying app maker Mobile Heartbeat and deploying its CURE solution in 21 of its 169 hospitals nationwide.

The roll out is the first deployment phase as HCA, aims to implement the solution across all of its hospitals and surgery centers in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. The acquisition comes on the heels of HCA’s pilot of CURE for its iMobile Project. That initiative is focused on smartphone-based critical care team communication, according to an announcement.

“Mobile Heartbeat is an innovator that is keenly focused on meeting the mobile technology needs of clinicians,” Jonathan Perlin, M.D., HCA’s chief medical officer and president of the Clinical Services Group, said in the announcement. “This acquisition will enhance our ability to work closely with Mobile Heartbeat as we continue to create and refine technology solutions to improve clinical workflows and provide secure communications that foster better patient care.”

Mobile Heartbeat CEO Ron Remy will remain as CEO of the indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of HCA. The vendor’s tools allow organizations to consolidate clinical communications including secure texting, photography, patient data and notifications.

“We’ve worked closely with HCA for several years to better understand the challenges clinicians face and to enhance our applications to meet their needs,” Remy said in the announcement.

Joining HCA will help us serve our current and future customers through a closer collaboration with one of the leading healthcare providers in the world. HCA’s leadership will be instrumental as we continue to develop improved solutions for secure clinical communications,” he said.

Yale-New Haven Hospital also is using Mobile Heartbeat software, with an eye on streamlining communication while providing healthcare staff secure access to patient data in real-time through a smartphone app.