This December, I had the privilege of covering the Third Annual mHealth Summit at the Gaylord. The 65-foot Christmas tree made of synthetic “candy” glass was impressive hanging from the Gaylord’s atrium ceiling, but didn't hold the amazement for me that the information at the summit conveyed. MHealth is booming and will continue to do so until it is pretty much the way things are done.
Will Yu, director of innovations for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology said "now is an extraordinary time to be an innovator in healthcare IT and mobile health.”
At the summit’s venture fair, a full cadre of financial and legal experts gave advice to attending entrepreneurs, indicating the market is hot for mHealth.
Lenard Marcus of Edison Ventures said the near term American economy should see “lots of money” going into the healthcare IT space. “Venture capitalists know the healthcare sector is a good investment. In the near term, we’re going to see the last dollars going into healthcare IT. It’s a really good place to be right now,” he said.
Howard Burde of Howard Burde Health Law said “everything” in mHealth is a ripe area for growth. Every technology used in the healthcare space, now, is going mobile. “It is more and more difficult to bring a [healthcare IT product] to market if you don’t have a mobile app to go with it,” he said.
Keynote speaker Paul Jacobs, chairman of the board and CEO of Qualcomm, Inc., said “it isn’t any hype” to call the wireless system one of humanity’s greatest achievements. More than 5.6 billion people are using cell phones, and the smart phone has outpaced computers. “Really, computing has moved to mobile,” he said.
Jacobs predicted 4 billion smart phones will be sold between now and 2014, half of which will be going into markets where there hasn’t been connectivity before. On the 3G level, Jacobs said the world will see “tremendous growth.” The connection will expand to doctors, as well.
“The mobile device in your hand gives you access to all of humanity’s collective knowledge. We’re going to see the full computer environment coming over,” he added. “Over the next year, really cool stuff is coming.”
Jacobs predicted mobile devices would play a significant role in managing chronic diseases, helping people to remain well longer. By 2020, 160 million Americans will be treated remotely, he said.
According to keynote speaker Sangita Reddy, executive director of operations for Apollo Hospitals Group, one of Asia’s largest healthcare groups, doctors’ growing comfort with mobile health is key to the transformation of healthcare.
Reddy said a time is soon coming when healthcare will be delivered 24/7 through the use of mobile devices to patients who want that service.
