Panelists:

Moderator:

I found the horizons opened up by the mobile applications in healthcare fascinating. Yet, there was also a feeling that there is so much more to do in this field than has been done already.

As a result I was more captivated by the "big picture view" painted by the speaker and moderator, rather than by specific applications discussed by panelists. Here are my brief notes:

Richard Adler (Institute for the Future)

Medicine is heading for trainwreck and cell phone is the solution. A lot of people already have a cell phone, so it is just a matter of rolling out applications. Adoption is still an issue, i.e. older people do not use cell phones for more than just regular phone calls. Apps to watch for:

• Texting medication reminders
• Texting lifestyle reminders (i.e. smoking cessation)
• Food ordering with nutrition reports (in store)
• Glucose monitoring
• Multimedia physician consults over the phone (3G Doctor)

Have you used many of these things lately? This goes to show how much work remains to make this a reality.

Don Jones (QUALCOMM)

Cell phones are cheap, globaly available and are becoming ubiquitious. The most immediate applications to healthcare are based on text messaging (infrastructure is ready). But the really interesting things will take advantage of location based services. Consider:

• When visiting a hospital, phone rings to provide quality info
• Leave "virtual post-its" to communicate reviews of your friends, tied to a specific location
• Payment by phone (HSA/FSA environment)

Chips, storage and bandwidth are no longer the limitations. The true challenges lie in user interface design and consumer / provider behavior and expectations. Successful applications drivers:

1. Peace of Mind: This means trust.
2. Guilt Reduction: Kids are monitored.
3. Hope: Feeling of a positive direction in life.
4. Fun: Reminders about eating broccoli are not fun.

The functional requirements need to address "Seven C's":

1. Cost
2. Confidentiality
3. Compliance
4. Convenience
5. Connectivity
6. Community
7. Control

What I found the most telling is that Don Jones is very optimistic about adoption by consumers and very pessimistic about healthcare professionals. They did a survey asking a question of "would you like to get blood readings using your cell phone". Consumers said YES, professionals said NO. Both overwhlemingly.

Looks to me like another indicator of changes coming on the horizon, much like what I posted about recently: Is "The End of Medicine" Coming? Interview with Andy Kessler.

Develoment of "cell phone healthcare" would be interesting to watch.