Kaiser Permanente has announced the launch of its latest mobile initiative — a full featured “Health Management” app for iOS.

Like its other mobile offerings, the new app allows members to access many of the same tools already available via its “My Health Manager” tool on kp.org.  Members can email their providers, check lab test results, order prescription refills, manage appointments and more — all from their iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches.  This latest move comes on the heals of Kaiser making the largest electronic health record system in the world accessible via smartphones with the launch of its mobile-optimized website m.kp.org.

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Highmark, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association based in Pittsburgh, announced recently that it’s launched new mobile websites for its members along with new motivational health and wellness SMS programs.

Its new mobile-optimized websites allow members to access Highmark’s provider directory, claims history and provides quick access to the most used functions of Highmark’s full websites.  Highmark’s health and wellness SMS program, called “Encouraging Words of Wisdom,” recently began for individuals enrolled in Highmark’s Personal Nutrition Coaching program, where individuals meet with a registered dietitian for up to seven sessions in a calendar year and can supplement their coaching by signing up for SMS alerts to receive motivational text messages every other day to stay on track with their wellness goal.

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Walgreens today announced that it’s added two new features to its iOS and Android-based mobile applications, including a new Pill Reminder feature and the ability to “Transfer by Scan.”

The latter enables users on iPhone and Android devices to transfer a prescription from another pharmacy to Walgreens by taking a picture of their prescription bottle and providing their name, date of birth and phone number, then sending to Walgreens with one click.  The new Pill Reminder feature allows iPhone mobile app users to track medication schedules and receive alerts through nine different reminder options, which can be set up by scanning a prescription barcode and selecting alert preferences.  Users also can add multiple prescriptions, vitamins and other supplements to a single reminder notification.

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Cambridge Consultants has designed new Bluetooth low energy (BLE) iPhone 4S applications, which may play a large role in the future development of the mobile health market. These apps have been developed to operate on CSR’s BLE devices, which Cambridge Consultants has worked to specialize with the company in order to create tools and device software that will be useful to those developers who are looking to create iOS and Mac OS applications.

BLE is aimed at the mHealth market as a means of establishing ultra-low power connectivity and data transfer. This can be used with applications, such as blood pressure monitors, which have been previously limited by power consumption, size, and compatibility constraints. In order to make this a reality, Cambridge Consultants aims to demonstrate how to optimize both the Bluetooth and mobile device performance within mHealth with these BLE applications.

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Health plan provider UnitedHealthcare has debuted a new mobile app for iOS devices called “Health4Me,” which provides 24/7 access to a registered nurse, a physician/hospital locator, and access to personal health benefits information among other features.

In addition, the new app features “Easy Connect” functionality that allows members to request a callback from a UnitedHealthcare service representative with a touch of  a screen.  Launched now for iOS devices, the new app will be out soon for Android as well.

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It was announced during this week’s HIMSS conference that Verizon, Motorola and BoxTone are teaming up to develop secure solutions for Android-based devices and applications with the aim of making the platform suitable for health IT implementation.

The jointly created offering leverages BoxTone’s automated “Enterprise Mobility Management” (EMM) software platform on select Motorola devices,such as the DROID RAZR and DROID RAZR MAXX smartphones, as well as DROID XYBOARD 10.1 and 8.2 tablets, all of which leveraging Verizon’s 4G LTE network.  As such, healthcare organizations can now “reliably deploy Android-based mobile devices and apps that are designed to help them meet strict compliance requirements, including privacy measures outlined in the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).”

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GE Healthcare and AirStrip Technologies have debuted a new wireless patient monitoring solution during the HIMSS12 conference on Wednesday.

Dubbed AirStrip PATIENT MONITORING, the new solution securely delivers patient monitoring information to critical-care physicians through iOS devices including iPhones and iPads, while helping physicians interact with, manipulate and zoom in on more than 100 clinical measurements and access physiologic data anytime, anywhere.  AirStrip received FDA clearance for the platform that drives the new patient monitoring solution back in 2010 and announced it obtained the CE Mark just last month.

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