I'll admit, I'm a sucker for the "Best of <fill-in-the-last-year>" everything for whatever reason. Why do I need to watch a mash-up of Gangam Style, Walk Off the Earth, and "Call Me Maybe"? The answer is "I don't", but I love it all. Sports stories, worst media sensationalist stories (such as today's end-times farce), best quotes, worst quotes - give it to me!
So what did 2012 have in store for mobile medical applications? The answer is "progress". I was browsing this morning for new or interesting news and came across two articles on MobiHealthNews. The first was an analysis of how many mobile medical applications have been cleared by the FDA, to the tune of 75. For the not-so-cheap price of $295.00, you too can read the full report. If you want the summary, just click here.
The second article was a bit of forward thinking in reaction to the impending healthcare regulation changes, most notably hospital readmission penalties. Funding will be cut from hospitals if their readmission rates for certain treatments are too high within 30 days. There are solutions to solve this problem, as the article notes that one solution is that doctors make phone calls afterward. The issue is that these types of solutions are resource heavy. Enter home monitoring apps. Implementation of those applications and systems will be the true measuring stick of whether apps can aid in limiting readmission rates, but it would be an absolute victory for hospitals and patients alike if it works.
Happy Holidays!
- RTK