IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Künftig wird die Telegesundheitsschwester in Ueckermünde, Waren und Neubrandenburg unterwegs sein und die Hausärzte unterstützen.

"Die Menschen in unserem dünn besiedelten Land werden immer älter, das gilt auch für die Hausärzte", sagte Gesundheitsminister Erwin Sellering heute in Schwerin. "Bis 2010 wird etwa ein Drittel der Hausärzte in den Altersruhestand gehen. Deswegen wird es vor allem in den ländlichen Regionen immer schwieriger, Hausarztpraxen zu besetzen. Um eine gute medizinische Versorgung sicherzustellen, müssen wir innovative Lösungen finden." Mit dem Modellprojekt AGnES nehme Mecklenburg-Vorpommern bundesweit eine Vorreiterrolle ein.

„AGnES“ steht für Arzt-entlastende, Gemeindenahe, E-Health gestützte, Systemische Intervention. Die speziell qualifizierten Krankenschwestern oder Arzthelferinnen arbeiten auf Anweisung des Hausarztes. Bei nicht oder nur eingeschränkt mobilen Patienten machen sie Hausbesuche. Dabei beraten und betreuen sie Patienten, überwachen Therapien und tragen zur Vorbeugung von Erkrankungen bei. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern wird auch telemedizinische Ausrüstung eingesetzt – die Telegesundheitsschwester hat unter anderem ein Laptop und ein Bildtelefon dabei.

Zum ersten Mal werde dabei auch eine telemedizinische Systemlösung unterstützt, die nicht vorrangig in der Behandlung von Patienten, sondern für die Gesundheitsprävention genutzt werde, sagte Seidel. Für das Projekt zur medizinischen Fernüberwachung von Probanden mit bestimmten Gesundheitsrisiken würden rund 597 000 Euro bereitgestellt.

That's "m" as in mobile, and at least the faithful gathered at the 2010 Med-e-Tel conference believe that the confluence of mobile technology and healthcare – mHealth – could have as profound an effect on medicine as the stethoscope.

"This mHealth is a little confusing to me," admitted Leonid Androuchko, professor of telecommunications at the International University of Geneva and a coordinator for telehealth with the International Telecommunication Union. "But we will get a title for this soon, and it will be the right one."

Mediziner können immer mehr von elektronischen Lösungen profitieren - dies zeigt sich auf der weltgrößten Computermesse CeBIT in Hannover, die bis zum morgigen Dienstag geöffnet ist.

The tender, the details of which have remained commercial-in-confidence, would see Medtech’s New Zealand subsidiary and New Zealand Post subsidiary, Datam, jointly provide software and services for a minimum seven years with a potential three year extension. Datam will provide support, maintenance and development throughout the project.

Tomorrow, the three-day mHealth + Telehealth World 2013 conference kicks off in Boston. The 5th annual mHealth World Congress and the second annual Telehealth Congress have joined forces to showcase solutions from what are arguably the two hottest areas of eHealth. Yes, that's right. I said mHealth is a part of eHealth. Back in March, I was taken to task by a blogger when I stated in my column that "mHealth is a component of eHealth," citing the World Health Organization's definition.

Episurveyor is a free application that allows you to create web-based data gathering forms that can be filled out via cell phone from the field. It's a great application in that it harnesses relatively widely available cellular technology and uses it to tackle one of the biggest nuisances in epidemiologic and public health data gathering: Namely collating and inputting data from paper forms into electronic databases where it can be shared and analyzed. Using GPS enabled phones allows data to be tagged with geo-coordinates, adding a further layer of granularity (though that upgraded feature is part of a fee-based package.)

Leading mobile health application developers and healthcare companies answered a survey regarding their forecasts of market trends. Respondents predicted mHealth applications would cease to be primarily distributed by applications' (app) stores. At the moment, app stores are still the distribution channels of choice, but traditional healthcare distribution channels like hospitals and specialised healthcare product vendors are expected to become the predominant distribution channels.

These powerful tools have revolutionized patient engagement for certain medication conditions, and they provide a unique opportunity to improve the clinical outcome of patients who require more intensive management.

GlobalData's figures go beyond just apps, though they are a large chunk. It says software and services make up 80 percent of the total, while hardware accounts for 12 percent, and network and connectivity 8 percent.

If you're planning on launching a remote treatment program or partnering with a healthcare provider in Germany, don't. Remote telehealth programs are banned in that country. But they are encouraged in Spain.

Market conditions for mHealth vary greatly across Europe, according to a new report issued by the research2guidance. In fact, the Berlin-based marketing company's analysis of five key mHealth factors in 28 EU countries finds that developers and providers looking to do business overseas will need to study the conditions in each nation very carefully before moving forward.

Mhealth (aka Mobile health) leverages mobile devices and information communication technology (ICT) to deliver health services and information exchange which can increase access, affordability, and quality of healthcare significantly.

In September of last year, another PwC report highlighted the importance for Malta of investing in health information technology (eHealth), saying that a good managerial and technological support system can alleviate work pressures of this labour intensive industry.

The global mHealth market size is expected to reach USD 49.12 billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 47.6% from 2013 to 2020, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Monitoring services is expected to grow at an estimated CAGR of 49.7% from 2014 to 2020.

Growing aging population along with rising incidences of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart ailments, and diabetes is anticipated to drive market demand. Introduction of new generation connected medical devices; healthcare providers find it easy to offer medical services at reduced costs.

The CDC-funded mHealth Tanzania Partnership’s Healthy Pregnancy, Healthy Baby SMS Service (HPHB) celebrates 1 million registrations to its service since its launch in November 2012. The service has sent 55 Million free SMS with safe antenatal, motherhood and infant healthcare information to Tanzanian pregnant women, mothers with newborns, male supporters and general information seekers across all national mobile networks.

The service is a success thanks to the dynamic collaboration among over two dozen partners coordinated under the mHealth Tanzania Partnership that works closely with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to reduce high Tanzania’s maternal and infant mortality rates. The partners support the message content development and updates, on-the-ground roll-out, service promotion, end user mobilization and registration assistance and technical application of the service.

"Is there an app for that?" When it comes to consumer healthcare applications for smart phones, the answer, increasingly, is yes.

There are now close to 6,000 consumer health apps, according to a review published in March by mobihealthnews, which reports on the mobile health industry, and more are being added every day. Many are free, or cost $1 to $10 to download.