Healthcare Apps 2014 – a few impressions

May 4, 2014 | by

This event was held on April 28th-30th in Victoria in London. It was organised by Pharma IQ and clearly had a strong pharma focus (including the charge which at £1995 for industry attendees clearly discriminated in favour of those with big-pharma sized budgets). It was also held just a few days after the significantly lower-priced Royal Society of Medicine event, and in the middle of a London Tube strike, all of which doubtless contributed to the relatively modest attendance (26 paid). I am most grateful to the organisers for kindly inviting me as one of speaker Alex Wyke’s guests.

As mentioned in an earlier post, there was a similarity with the RSM agenda, so I won’t repeat comments made by the same speaker before. The first up was the 3G Doctor, David Doherty, who gave another of his excellent presentations, although the sound engineer sadly made some of it inaudible. After a review of how we had got to where we are, he suggested that the Internet is about to become a device-dominated network. He drew a parallel between (more…)

EU green paper on mHealth – VERY IMPORTANT

April 12, 2014 | by

This week the European Commission published its green paper on mHealth previously announced in the eHealth Action Plan 2012-2020, kicking off a broad stakeholder consultation on existing barriers and issues related to mHealth deployment and helping to identify the right way forward to unlock mHealth potential. To accompany it, a very short video by Neelie Kroes is available. An accompanying short (10 page) paper by the EC on the current legal position for people using health & wellbeing apps is also well worth a read. Finally, to complete the set, the EC has produced an mHealth infographic as well.

Responses to the Green Paper are required to the European Commission by 3rd July at the latest.

In view of the potential for mHealth to benefit everyone if correctly regulated and supported, all readers are urged to respond, either individually or collectively via an industry body (eg DHACA – see below), or both.

The document, at only 19 pages long, is hugely impressive, making an excellent case for (more…)

A useful note on telehealth & telecare (UK)

March 20, 2014 | by

If like me you are frequently asked for a summary of what has happened recently in the world of telehealth & telecare and are forced either to sit down and cut & paste/write one or politely turn down the request, you’ll be pleased to know of the recent four-page summary produced by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST). Written by Peter Border, it is a competent summary of recent developments in remote monitoring in the UK, including 3millionlives & ALIP, extending to mention of the regulation of medical apps.

Of course there are bits I’d have written differently. For example (more…)

MHRA guidance on medical device stand-alone software, including apps (UK)

March 19, 2014 | by

The MHRA has today provided guidance on medical device software, which includes medical apps. The guidance can be found here.

Briefly, this guidance aims to:

  • outline the current regulatory position
  • explain what defines a medical device
  • help with decisions on whether your stand -alone software or app is a medical device and give examples
  • give information about the rules on classification of medical devices and how to meet the regulations
  • give links to other useful websites and relevant documents.

This guidance is aimed at those working in healthcare and people who are developing devices.

Readers might wish to refer to our previous recommendations regarding medical apps.

Attitudes and behaviours of apps users

March 6, 2014 | by

Health apps are often in the news these days. Ofcom, the UK telecommunications regulator, commissioned Kantar Media to carry out qualitative research on attitudes and behaviours of apps users when using devices such as smart phones and tablets. The resulting report, Apps Environment, published today by Ofcom makes interesting reading.

Although the report was commissioned by the UK regulator, I think the findings are applicable to any country. What’s more, the generic nature of the conclusions make them relevant to health apps as much as to any others.

The report says that “among app users, several perceptions were found to be influencing behaviours, attitudes and the low level of concern in the app environment. These perceptions were:
• official app stores monitor and vet the apps they make available;
• well-known brands provide a safe, secure and reliable user experience, and;
• apps are safer than browsers due to their more limited and contained nature compared to browser-based internet use.”

Another finding was that many app users said they paid very little attention to permissions requested by apps – nothing new there then. How many times have you ticked that “I Agree” box to the terms and conditions without reading them?

Very few participants in the research are reported to have raised spontaneous concerns about apps. The researchers say that when prompted, in-app purchasing and advertising were of greatest concern to parents, and at most, a frustration or annoyance to others.

This shows that when it comes to more critical apps such as health apps or those that are designed to provide a safety net in a care environment a stronger regulation may be needed as well as a pro-active educational effort to emphasise the need to be aware of issues such as data privacy.

South Korea to push Telehealth – good for Samsung

January 27, 2014 | by

Returning from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where she met with several company CEOs, [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Park-Geun-hye.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]South Korean President Park Geun-hye has decided to promote telehealth as a new growth engine for South Korea according to the Shanghai Daily. The president wants to see the country become a global leader in telehealth with a strong domestic use of the technology.

This is particularly fortunate for Samsung, the country’s largest group of companies, which is also said to be planning biomedicine and medical equipment to be among its growth sectors with a reported 10-year total of $22 bn (US) of investment across all its growth sectors. Samsung already produces major hospital equipment such as ultrasound and digital radiography systems, currently operates a massive hospital and cancer center in Seoul and is, (more…)

An essential link to mHealth devices and apps?

January 27, 2014 | by

Guest columnist Lois Drapin thinks so. She shares her insights on Validic, an emerging company in data integration for payers, providers, preventive wellness companies and pharma;how it evolved from its original concept in consumer health engagement, along with a few pointers its founders have for fellow entrepreneurs.

One of the keystone aspects of “ecosystems” is interoperability and this also applies to the data pipeline that flows from health apps and devices to the appropriate segment of the healthcare delivery system, and eventually, to the users—patients, consumers and/or medical professionals such as physicians and nurses or other clinicians. By now, we all know that the capture and analytics for both “big” and “small” health data are business imperatives for healthcare in the US. With data of this nature, we can embrace our understanding of behavioral change at the individual and population levels. The anticipated outcomes of behavioral change may power operational and cost efficiencies in the healthcare industry.

But data will no longer come from just inside the healthcare delivery system. In addition to the changing technology enablement within the health system, as we all know, data will flow from many things—in fact, The Internet of Things (IoT). This means that data that relates to our lifestyle, wellness and health will pour from the many types of wearable devices not now connected to the heath delivery system. In addition to our computers, tablets, phablets and smartphones, are the many sensors paired with tech innovations such as the wearables— from wristbands, smartwatches, clothing (from shoes to headbands), glasses, contacts, and pendants — to things such as refrigerators, clocks, mattresses, scales, coffee pots, cars, and even, toilets…all of which are predicted to become an important market in the coming years.

Validic, based in Durham, NC, has put itself smack in the middle of that market (more…)

App helps guide the visually impaired

January 9, 2014 | by

You may be familiar with the floor tapes used in large buildings to guide people to different areas or departments – [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Kirugi-Hospital-Floor-Lines-2.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]I have seen these in many hospitals. A team in Italy’s University of Palermo have extended the idea to develop an inexpensive way to guide visually impaired people.

In a paper published last month Pierluigi Gallo and colleagues have described their work in developing Arianna, a system which can be used to guide people along complex paths (more…)

IMS Health files to raise $100 million in IPO

January 4, 2014 | by

In news late yesterday, IMS Health has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering of stock. The preliminary prospectus listed JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and BofA Merrill Lynch as the underwriters. We have noted IMS Health’s expansiveness on entering mHealth through app curation, prescribing and data security at the mHealth Summit [TTA 23 Dec] and their previous acquisition of Diversinet [TTA 15 Aug] in mobile app security; the latter was only a small part of their 2013 acquisitions in several areas totaling $105 million. Clearly there are some plans which may very well include health apps and data. Reuters, GeekWire.

mHealth data privacy: a worrying finding

January 3, 2014 | by

We reported last August on a YouGov poll that found nine out of ten people not knowing what the term ‘telehealth’ meant.  Now they’ve been at it again, this time looking at mHealth, sponsored by Pinsent Masons.  From a poll of 2000 people, they found that:

“Prior to being given a definition of mHealth, the majority (73%) of respondents didn’t know what the term meant, and when explained 90% stated they never used mHealth services, despite the examples given including established applications such as fitness apps.”

Perhaps there’s a little encouragement (more…)

Google Glass for gait improvement

October 16, 2013 | by | 2 Comments

The University of Twente in the Netherlands is doing some unusual research in developing an app to help improve the gait of a group at high risk of falls–those with Parkinson’s disease. Current research has found that certain patterns and rhythms when viewed or heard improve gait, such as stripes on the floor or a metronome’s ticking. Glass or another intelligent glasses would display these pattern and/or rhythmic sound, and it would interact with the cameras and accelerometers already built into the devices. The MIRA Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine is working on the project together with the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour (Nijmegen), the Medisch Spectrum Twente hospital and the VUmc University Medical Centre in Amsterdam. Smart glasses can improve gait of Parkinson’s patients  It also sounds like an investigatory area for smartphones and fitness bracelets. Hat tip to contributing editor Toni Bunting.

Apps World

September 26, 2013 | by

22-23 October 2013, Earls Court 2, London

While this event is all about the apps and M2M in every area, the organizers are reaching out to the health tech area in both the exhibition and with speakers such as Subir Mondal, Deputy Director IS, NHS – Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, myHealthPal and BleepBleeps. Parts are free with registration, others are paid. Keynote speakers include Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple at the free Developer World. The free part also includes the 250-exhibitor expo along with 3 keynote talks within the 5 free-to-attend workshops (registration here). The Enterprise World speaker track on both days is free and includes the NHS speaker on security. M2M and Automotive is a paid track and includes content (Health & Wearables, Connected Car) relating to telehealth with myHealthPal and BleepBleeps.  Passes range from £250 (networking) to £995 (2 day Gold). According to a posting on LinkedIn, there is a 25 percent savings when you use this code for registration: LINKEDIN25. More information here.

Are mHealth apps sharing your data with pharma and insurance companies?

September 1, 2013 | by | 1 Comment

As a further postscript to our recent post on mHealth apps, the Financial Times has just published an article offering a worrying new angle. According to the FT, the “top 20” health & wellness apps are sharing data on you with third parties that, the FT reckons, may include pharmaceutical and insurance companies.

They report that: “Regulations bar the tracking and selling of individuals’ specific medical and  prescription records. Yet some companies are figuring out ways around those  restrictions by building digital health profiles about people based on their use  of the web and mobile apps.”

Perhaps a case of reading those Ts & Cs carefully before pressing ‘accept’?

Ambient Assisted Living Forum 2013

August 22, 2013 | by

The AAL Forum is billed as an annual platform for the growing “ambient assisted living” – telehealth and telecare – community in Europe to meet and discuss AAL. It is also a showcase event for people involved in the Ambient Assisted Living Joint Programme which is an initiative involving 20 EU and 3 non-EU countries, with public funding from EU and partner states. This year the Forum meets in Norrköping in Sweden from 24th to 26th of September.

The full programme, a link to the online registration web page, information on the associated exhibition and archived information on the past 4 years’ AAL Forums can be accessed from the AAL Forum website.

 

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/EKTG-logo.png” thumb_width=”150″ /]European Knowledge Tree Group Workshop

A side event at this year’s AAL Forum, this workshop will be held on the 24th of September.  The EKTG is  an  ad-hoc group concerned with the real impact of R&D in the area of ageing and “brings together users, technologists, financiers and governments”. The workshop aims to review the technology of Apps from development, opportunities, appropriateness to costs and finance. To register for the EKTG workshop visit the registration page here.

The exploding black market in healthcare data

August 6, 2013 | by

When medical records’ black market value is estimated at an average of $50 per record–94 percent of health care organizations have had at least one breach in the past two years–and 2 million Americans were medical identity theft victims in 2011–it’s one unpleasant ‘pointer to the future.’

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/IDExperts_Infographic_v4_72-crop1.png” thumb_width=”150″ /]Data firm ID Experts studied a decade of data breaches and notes that medical data has become very attractive to professional hackers and cyber thieves. ID Experts’ full infographic.

  • First, there is so much of it with the increasing electronification of health data.
  • Second, so much of it resides on insecure or unsecured networks: smartphone, tablet, laptop.
  • Third, organizations and individuals still are only semi-conscious of fraud reality, and are negligent and sloppy when it comes to securing devices and over-reliance on the cloud without tight enterprise security. The new and underfunded health insurance ‘exchanges’ are particularly vulnerable as they, as well as other healthcare organizations, can over-rely on technology to protect data–which clever hackers can work around. Moreover, they can extract and sit on data till the trail goes cold. (Scroll down infographic to find out more). Also Ponemon Institute’s recent report in Healthcare Technology Online.

ID Experts’ study conclusions are reinforced by the California State Attorney General’s report that 55 percent of breaches “were intentional intrusions by outsiders or by unauthorized insiders” and that healthcare breaches were the third largest in reported incidents. A counter-measure may be the Medical ID Fraud Alliance, a collaboration in progress that is planned to include the Federal Trade Commission, the Secret Service and the Veterans Administration. More in Amednews.com (published by the American Medical Association)

Healthcare breaches due to criminal activity and plain error are becoming more common as well. All one has to do is bop over to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, click on ‘MED’ for healthcare and 2013 and check the frequency to date (113) of breaches both tiny and huge. (By comparison, full year 2012 totaled 224.) Our TTA ‘Into The Breach’ Awards go to:   (more…)

How To Design Killer Apps for Healthy Living (KA4HL)

July 31, 2013 | by

21 August 2013, 6-9:30pm, John Jay College, New York, NY

This evening meeting sponsored by the 3,000+ member Health 2.0 NYC concentrates on the impact of smartphone apps and their use in health tracking. 95% of all downloaded apps are never used more than once. This event explores what factors make a behavior-changing app effective in helping people to be healthier, and what makes an app ‘viral’. Two KA4HL Rock Stars will discuss app design and then up to 10 apps will present and be judged on points. Applications are still open. Watch this spot for further information on presenters and format. Further information is on Meetup (registration on Meetup and for the group is required for access) but final registration and information will be in a week or so on Eventbrite. Health 2.0 NYC events average about 100-125 attendees and you can always expect a lively presentation, bountiful networking plus drinks and snacks.

Editor’s note: TTA is a media sponsor of and Editor Donna is a co-organizer/event producer/social media chair/bottlewasher for Health 2.0 NYC.