Heritage Open mHealth Challenge

Heritage Provider Network (HPN), in collaboration with the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and Open mHealth, are pleased to launch an open challenge that will seek submissions demonstrating innovative uses of the Open mHealth architecture, and the power of integrating mobile applications and data for more effective management of clinical conditions.



While thousands of mobile and web applications have been developed for different health conditions, a fundamental issue is that these applications are developed independently and are not easily integrated into a coherent user experience or clinical tool. Someone who may need to manage several conditions -- such as congestive heart failure, COPD and diabetes – could use several applications to help them manage each condition, but would find it difficult to co-ordinate their use and gain the deeper level of insights that would come from integrating the data collected. The goal of the Open mHealth architecture is to allow patients and clinicians to combine existing and emerging applications and devices to create integrated, personalized health solutions that enable improved disease management and better health outcomes.

Open mHealth is a non-profit organization that is a project of the Tides Center and a recipient of lead funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Pioneer Portfolio. Open mHealth also receives in-kind development support from the Center for Embedded Network Sensing, Cornell NYC Tech, and a growing developer community.

Learn more about the Heritage Open mHealth Challenge here.

Initial thoughts about the HTC Droid Eris (Android)

I've had the HTC Droid Eris for a few days and I've been very impressed by this thin, small device. It's a great smartphone for those who wish to have a light, touch-screen device. Android is a great operating system and I like how you can easily find and install apps through the "Market." This "App Store" feature is also found on the Apple iPhone and the BlackBerry Storm/Storm2. You can easily find and install apps directly from your smartphone. There's no need to sync your phone to your PC first.

Windows Mobile has evolved from an era when we used to download installer files to our desktops/laptops in order to install apps. I predict that Windows Mobile 7 will change all that through the development of some type of universal "app store." If this doesn't happen, then Microsoft will continue to lose its grip on the smartphone market.

If you're familiar with the iPhone interface, then you'll quickly learn how to navigate an Android device. If you've grown up on Windows Mobile or PalmOS, then you'll still learn quickly, but you'll find some refreshing changes that simplify the smartphone experience. As I play with this HTC Droid Eris, I'm more convinced that Android will quickly dominate the smartphone market and that even more consumers will switch from standard mobile phones to smartphones.

To BlackBerry Storm 2 or not to Storm 2

There are too many to's (2's) in the title, right?
"To BlackBerry Storm 2 or not to Storm 2." That's the question.

I've been following the Storm 2 for several months and I'm quite excited about this device, but I'm also cautiously optimistic.

• Will the Storm 2 have enough internal RAM for medical apps? (2 GB of storage, but how much RAM for apps?) The original Storm only had 128 MB of RAM, even though it had 1 GB of storage.
  
• Will it be capable of MiFi (Wi-Fi router) capabilities?
• How will the new SurePress touch screen compare to the original SurePress?

In my mind, the original BlackBerry Storm is an excellent smartphone, but it's not very suitable for health care professionals who wish to run many medical apps because of its limited internal RAM. Will the Storm 2 be a great medical smartphone? Many physicians already use a BlackBerry. Will they switch to a touch-screen device and abandon the hardware QWERTY keyboard?

Smartphones as a "second brain" or "peripheral brain"

Back in the "old days," medical students and residents often relied on a pocket book and they referred to this as their "second brain" or "peripheral brain." This little book contained all the vital formulas, charts, tables, and clinical pearls that would help you survive the wards (and outpatient care as well).

Now, students and physicians rely on their smartphone as a second brain. The medical smartphone often contains critical medical apps such as drug references, medical database, medical calculators, conversion tools, algorithms, and much more. Plus, with a smartphone, you can easily get online. Once you have access to the Internet, then your brain is almost infinitely smarter (well, as least mine is).

So many healthcare professionals now depend on their smartphones. They couldn't live without their phone. They would feel naked - almost as if they're missing half their brain.

Do I miss the BlackBerry Storm that I had for a few days?

I don't miss the BlackBerry Storm. I tried it for a few days and I quickly realized that it wasn't the right smartphone for someone like me. Perhaps the Storm 2 will have more memory for apps. It's very misleading to advertise that you have 1 GB of storage when you only have 128 MB of "Flash" memory. Many people don't understand that you're really limited to only 128 MB of memory for apps. So, if you load some huge medical references, you'll be running out of space very quickly!