It’s been revealed that more than $439M has been poured into 70 different Web 2.0 healthcare startups that develop mobile health apps and tools for online social networking and collaboration in 2011.

In 2010, a little more than $305M was raised for 43 different deals, meaning 2011 showed a 44% increase in dollars invested and a 63% increase in deals funded compared to 2010.  ”We are at the very early stages of an evolution in the entire healthcare system,” Jessica Canning, global research director for Dow Jones VentureSource, told InformationWeek Healthcare. “We are essentially witnessing the democratization of healthcare where detailed information is being collected both from healthy people as well as individuals trying to improve their physical wellness.”

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In a rather interesting move, it’s been revealed that Republican House members are urging both the FDA and FCC to move faster in approving mobile medical apps.

In a letter sent to both agencies last week, House members asked for easier regulatory hurdles facing mHealth app developers, in addition to helping speed up the process of getting new apps submitted, approved and available to users.  The authors pointed out that the number of health-related apps for iOS alone grew by more than 250% from 2010 to 2011.

Looking at the growth, legislators are concerned that the “complex regulatory framework” between the various agencies could “inhibit future growth and innovation in this promising market and could preclude tools that help patients better manage their care.”

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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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As healthcare organizations enter the mobile space there’s been debate over whether native mobile applications or mobile Web development is the better choice.  While each have their pros and cons, most organizations have chosen the former.  It was announced today, however, that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) is launching a mobile-optimized version of its Member Services site.

Supported on both Android and iOS platforms, BCBSNC wanted to give its more than 3.7M customers access to its award-winning site without the need for downloading a native mobile application.  Developed with the help of Kony Solutions, users can securely login to bcbsnc.com on their mobile devices to access features such as claim viewing, current health plan benefit information, physician finder, treatment cost estimator, prescription drug information and much more.

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It’s been revealed that Sensei has won the $100K CardioEngagement Challenge sponsored by Novartis.

Sensei, who’s created a mobile app suite that’s described as a fully featured health and wellness program, leverages mobile phones as tracking devices to offer a holistic approach by integrating modules for healthy eating, fitness, weight management, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes.  Patients can track their health over time and even receive financial incentives in for the form of coupons and promotions to drive motivation and engagement.

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It was announced today that the American Diabetes Association (ADA) of Washington State is partnering with Numera, a provider of telehealth and other mHealth solutions, to “reach the diabetes community with a new approach to wellness and chronic health management.”

“Numera Social,” which is a Facebook and mobile application, will target anyone who would like to participate in plans and challenges that guide an individual through the process of making important nutrition and exercise changes to slow the progression of diabetes.  The ADA/Numera Social application will be prominently featured at the ADA Expo on April 21, 2012 at the Washington State Convention Center.

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Back in December at the mHealth Summit, the Surgeon General’s office launched a challenge that called on mobile app developers to create apps in three different categories; healthy eating & nutrition; physical fitness/activity; and integrative health and well-being.

In the healthy eating category, joint winners were selected as “equally outstanding submissions,” including GoodGuide — an app that makes it easy to get the information you need about your food, personal care and household products to aid in making healthy decisions — as well as Fooducate, which uses barcode scanning to allow you to scan the products you buy to quickly get information on that food’s health value.

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