Mr. Bertolini was introduced as a man who intimately understands challenges in health and healthcare.  Mark’s son was diagnosed with cancer in the past few years, and recently he gave his son one of his kidneys for his survival.  The audience clapped when we were told that his son is doing well and has since recovered.

Mark explained to us all that the world is evolving, and behavioral changes need to happen in this country. He went on to expound, “imagine a healthcare system that is connected and convenient, and that works around the members’ lives instead of members working around the healthcare system.”

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With a lot of ambiguity surrounding how SMS can be properly implemented in healthcare messaging, the folks at mHIMSS have produced an excellent quick-reference guide that covers five frequently asked questions regarding the use of SMS in healthcare.

Covering everything from the technology needed to deploy SMS, to the many regulatory standards associated with SMS and the use of Short Codes, and even including “Personal Health Information (PHI)” within text messages, the doc provides an excellent reference point to those seeking more information on SMS in healthcare.

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A new survey published recently by HIMSS and Qualcomm Life show that while consumers understand what remote patient monitoring is, only a quarter of those surveyed reported using one before.

In addition, only 16% of those surveyed had heard about remote monitoring devices from their healthcare provider, and 22% said they’d used such a device themselves in the past.  Just 8% said they currently used such devices as part of a fitness program and 5% said they were using such a device provided by a physician.  The survey included phone interviews with 125 American adults in January so the sample size wasn’t that large.  Still, the findings fall in line with similar research showing consumer awareness of the concept, but not the adoption to match.

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The following is a guest post from Elyse Rossler, National Director, Health at mobileStorm.

With close to 9 million members, treated by 180,000 employees and 16,000 physicians — and as the fifth largest hospital system in the U.S. generating $45 billion a year in revenue — Kaiser Permanente shines.

George Halvorson, CEO and Chairman of Kaiser, gave an inspirational talk to a select audience during the mHIMSS conference in Las Vegas last week.  He outlined KP’s strategy and success very succinctly with simple principles; treat each Kaiser member in totality, with a comprehensive wellness plan, using a toolkit for addressing their health and well being.  KP shies away from treating their members in “silos.”

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The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) has announced that it’s added the mHealth Summit — one of the largest mobile healthcare events in the industry — to its growing portfolio of resources for the healthcare community.

Just days before the annual HIMSS conference in Las Vegas, the acquisition of the mHealth summit is a “natural next step” according to Richard Scarfo, HIMSS’ vice president of vendor events, who directed the summit for the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health before being hired by HIMSS.  “HIMSS sees this event as a developed, branded, recognized and successful event, and we want to bring that into the fold.”

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On Monday during the mHealth Summit in Washington, DC, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) — the largest and most influential trade group in the health IT industry — formally launched a subsidiary targeted directly at the mobile health IT market.

Formally known as “mHIMSS,” the subsidiary will be headed up by Edna Boone, senior director for mobile initiatives at HIMSS since 2008.  The first order of business for mHIMSS was publishing a new report and survey on the current state of mobile technology in healthcare, which included responses from 164 mostly hospital-based CIOs and IT managers.  The survey revealed that just 38% of healthcare organizations had a formal strategy or policy regarding the use of mobile devices, with another 51% saying they were developing a policy.

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