Medgadget: “Yet on the whole, playing with the CR-48 is like peeking into the future – the far, far away future. And though it’s hard to fill in all the details now, there’s a lot of potential for Chrome OS in the world of medicine.” – The author does a great job of covering why the Chrome OS, and a CR-48 like device, would be good for healthcare. Reasons include disposability in which “the ultimate machine for the medical world is the one in which the doctor, nurse, patient, etc, cares the least about if it’s dropped, lost, or broken”; interchangeability by allowing any user to simply log into any CR-48 and have their information instantly available; security; and hardware customizability. It’s a refreshing change to see someone thinking outside the box when it comes to computing in healthcare.
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Over the summer I participated in research2guidance‘s online mobile health developers‘ survey.
In total there were 231 participating companies ranging from start-up mHealth specialists to traditional healthcare market players.
Basically the survey reveals that smartphothes, i.e. mobile devices, will have a significant impact on healthcare over the next few years. I don’t think anyone is surprised by this information, but it’s certainly nice to see validation in the form of a survey. Granted, surveys aren’t the best way to gauge whats happening in the market, but it’s better than nothing.
Some of the results of the survey are:
- Nearly 80% of respondents see diabetes as the therapeutic area with the highest business potential
- Almost 70% of survey participants agree that app developers and agencies will be the main players in the market
- Smartphone penetration is seen as the main driver for mHealth by 63% of respondents
- Lack of standardization (50%), regulation (49%) and market transparency (49%) are the main barriers facing mHealth
- Doctors and hospitals are seen as the best distribution channel for mHealth apps by 2015
- Android and iOS will be preferred mobile platforms for mHealth solutions
You can get a free copy of the basic results in the form of a whitepaper at the research2guidance website.
A more detailed report called “Global mHealth Market Report 2010-2015” can also be found at the research2guidance website, but you’ll have to open up your checkbook. As a participant I received a dicount code for the full report (10% discount code: 3EEX8QH). Enjoy.
I received an email recently notifying me of the availability of The Johns Hopkins ABX Guide for the Android OS. I remember using the Hopkins ABX guide on my Palm Pilot many years ago. The website has always been a great source of information and having it in a mobile platform is great, especially for pharmacists.
According to the email I received from the USBMIS Development Team: “The Johns Hopkins ABX Guide for Android continues to provide current, authoritative, comprehensive information on anti-microbial agents, infectious diseases, and commonly-encountered pathogens in one portable volume. Written by experts at the world-renowned Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, this must-have resource features expert recommendations, clinical anddiagnostic decision-making tools, and drug-to-drug interactions. Concise, thorough, and current, The Johns Hopkins ABX Guide, Mobile Edition is designed for quick reference and comprehension. Information is featured in an easy-to-access format 
that facilitates rapid application of knowledge at the point of care.”
Click this link on your Android device or simply scan the QR-Code to the right to download The Johns Hopkins ABX Guide. The application used to be free, but now it’ll lighten your pockets a bit with a $25 price tag.
It’s been a busy week, and pretty much all my attention was focused on the ASHP Midyear event in Anaheim, California. Of course as a pharmacist that’s where my focus should have been, but that doesn’t mean that the rest of the world stopped moving. Here are some of the things I found interesting this week:
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My Lenovo X201 Tablet finally arrived and I couldn’t be happier. It’s a nice tablet PC, and I’m more convinced than ever before that I made the right decision by going with Lenovo.
I’ve used several different laptops and tablet PCs and can honestly say that I’ve never been more impressed with a machine, not HP, not Dell. I’m sure there are fans of both manufacturers, but that’s my personal opinion. Take it for what it’s worth.
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mobihealthnews: “The market opportunity for mobile apps in the healthcare enterprise is currently $100 million, according to a recent report from Chilmark Research. Because of the rapid evolution of mobile devices, physician demand, and the healthcare enterprise’s need to improve quality and efficiencies, the market will climb to $1.7 billion in three years time, Chilmark Research predicts.” – In case you missed it, that’s billion, with a “b”.
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I first wrote about AirStrip Technologies back in December 2009. At the time all the AirStip applications were availble for the iOS. That’s all changed as the company recently announced that AirStrip OB is now available from the Android Market.
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I recently read an article in Laptop Magazine about the most anticipated tablets scheduled to hit the market over the next several months. Some things caught my attention.
First, all the tablets listed were slate models and offered a variety of screen sizes. The smallest screen listed was 7 inches, while the largest was listed at 12 inches. Screen size is important to me so I was glad to see that the idea of larger devices wasn’t completely dead. The second thing was the variety of operating systems offered. Windows 7 and Android were prominent, but a couple of the tablet descriptions didn’t include an operating system. Based on the screen shots and a little web surging it appears that some of the devices may use proprietary operating systems. We’ll have to wait and see. And finally, almost all the tablets listed were clearly aimed at the consumer. In fact the only “enterprise” tablet that made the list was the Cisco Cius. The Cius is an interesting device as it will use the Android OS, a smaller 7 inch screen, 802.11n, 3G and 4G, and Bluetooth. I’m sure the company is hoping to leverage its VoIP and data systems against the needs of business users. In my opinion the Cius would provide significant functionality and potential for increased productivity to those businesses that already employ Cisco phone or data services. It makes sense to integrate tablets into a system that already uses the same infrastructure.
The two tablets that were conspicuously absent from the list were the BlackBerry PlayBook and the HP Slate which are both being marketed as enterprise devices. I love the idea of the PlayBook because it offers real-time video conferencing like the Cius and the ability to pair it with a BlackBerry smartphone to access online content. The potential to tether a smartphone to a tablet is quite appealing to me.
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As usual there were a lot of things that happened during the week, and not all of it was pharmacy or technology related. Here’s a quick look at some of the stuff I found interesting. And yes, this is for the week of 10-10-10. Cool!
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I thought you might like to know that Skyscape is giving away 10 iPads as part of a promotion celebrating October 10, 2010, you know 10/10/10. All you have to do is spend $75 or more by 10/27/2010 and you’re automatically entered into the drawing.
Here’s the email I received:
Skyscape makes medical reference material designed for healthcare professionals. Most references are available for all the popular mobile platforms like the iOS, Android OS and the BlackBerry. You can take a peek at their list of drug information resources here. I don’t really use Skyscape references, but some of the items that jumped out at me included AHFS Drug Information, The Johns Hopkins POC-IT ABX Guide and iFacts: Drug Interaction Facts. Skyscape offers quite a selection.
