@ CTIA: M-health has many moving parts, but lots of accolades

ORLANDO, Fla. — The biggest question in m-health, and indeed in all of healthcare, is who pays for it? According to a panel RCR Wireless News brought together here earlier this week, the initial groundswell of support and adoption in m-health is going to come from caregivers and individuals concerned about their well-being and the well-being of loved ones.
Change agents within the system, such as doctors and hospital administrators, are going to be the people that drive greater adoption overall and push insurance companies to find a reimbursement model for the arsenal of new devices coming their way. The majority of healthcare professionals are embracing m-health today, said Pete DeNagy, an independent consultant. It just may take some time to see things through to adoption.
“The sheer focus and quantity of applications and devices that are hitting the market is astounding,” he said. “The value proposition of the secure medical record being delivered to the doctor or the caregiver, patient bedside … is absolutely fantastic.”
The first several proof of concepts and trials are important, but once testimonials, white papers and case studies are released from major hospitals, the panelist all agreed tha most others will follow in kind.
“You’ve got an antiquated system in healthcare,” said Scott Minor, VP of mobile manage solutions and services at InfoLogix Inc. “The platform is sort of a tug-of-war for for them. They want to adopt these technologies… Everyone’s just trying to figure out how do I put these elements together.”
The carriers’ role in all of this is, of course, multi-faceted, but Sprint Nextel is working to bring that technology testing and collaboration together while keeping an eye on the end user.
“I think the overall goal of all the carriers, but specifically Sprint Nextel Corp., is making life easier for the patient,” said Gary Rurup, strategic opportunity manager of healthcare and fitness at Sprint.