At the mHealth Summit: Sensors, watches and glasses, oh my!

The mHealth Summit kicked off Sunday at Maryland's National Harbor with provider engagement and integration of mobile health technologies into healthcare among the major themes.

"I believe we will see mHealth devices become even more ubiquitous, driven by non-health-related consumer companies--whom we can learn a great deal from in terms of making health and wellness a part of our day-to-day lives," Rich Scarfo, director of the event and vice president of its backer, the Personal Connected Health Alliance, says at mHealth News.

A range of stakeholders will chime in, including consumer electronics giants, pharmacy chains and life sciences companies.

The summit focuses on real-world applications and results, Scarfo says, including improved patient engagement and adherence, better patient-provider communication and ways patients can manage their health and wellness themselves.

Among the highlights of the event:

  • Wearables will be big. A session Wednesday focuses on Google Glass, sensors, smartwatches and more. Another session will focus on innovations and deployment within the Intelligent Medical Home, according to a second mHealth News article, including ambient sensing and remote monitoring technologies developed for home use
  • Hospitals that were early adopters of Apple's HealthKit--Duke Medicine and Ochsner Health System--will share their experiences during a clinical mobility forum held at the summit, according to Government Health IT
  • FierceHealthIT will sponsor an executive breakfast Tuesday morning on mHealth's Impact Across the Care Continuum

Regarding Apple's HealthKit, Ochsner chief clinical transformation officer Richard Milani, M.D., says doctors had for years been asking for a tool for tracking data such as blood pressure, diet, exercise and weight loss.

"The integration of Apple's HealthKit with our EHR affords patients new opportunities to better integrate their lifestyles with healthcare providers," Milani says in the Government Health IT article.

Do-it-yourself (DIY) healthcare, such as smartphone-linked devices and mobile apps, are predicted to be among the top healthcare trends for 2015, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report.

Consumer giants including Samsung and BlackBerry are looking to get in on the healthcare device market. However, to be successful, consumer wearables have to be about more than just fitness, a recent Juniper Research report concluded.

For more information:
- check out the summit
- here's the mHealth News story
- read the second mHealth News article
- read the GovernmentHealthIT piece