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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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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Research firm Frost & Sullivan has published a new report that suggests revenue earned from mHealth apps will reach $392M by 2015.

The report, entitled “Analysis of the U.S. Broadband mHealth Applications Market,” said that the mHealth market earned roughly $230M in 2010, and over the next 3 years is expected to expand exponentially as business models and significant value offerings continue to evolve.  The report also makes note of various restrictions on market entry, however, as seen in 2011 with the release of the FDA’s mHealth guidelines.

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It was announced today that Independence Blue Cross (IBC), southeastern Pennsylvania’s largest health insurer, has selected Kony Solutions — a provider of “write once, deploy anywhere” mobile application solutions, to power the former’s newly minted mobile app strategy.

IBC chose Kony for its ability to reach more than 9,000 mobile smartphones/tablets/kiosks and operating systems using its cross-platform mobile development platform, allowing IBC to develop robust mobile solutions for members, providers, and business partners regardless of what type of device they use.

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TechFlash readers voted that Group Health Mobile was the best mobile application of 2011.

The app is free for both iPhones and Androids, and allows Group Health’s members to access several important features of the member website via one smartphone application.

One feature of the app is a symptom checker, through which members can answer a few questions to receive suggestions on what steps to take. However, if members are still uncertain of what to do, the application also offers access to a consultation nurse, giving patients 24/7 access to professional medical advice.

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The folks behind iTriage, the popular mHealth consumer application, have announced a new integration with HealthVault, Microsoft’s digital Personal Health Record (PHR) platform.

Touted as the first and only “one-stop health app,” iTriage bills itself as the world leader in “symptom-to-provider” pathway technology, allowing users to not only find out what’s wrong with them, but also where to go for treatment.  The integration with PHRs will round out its functionality to create a pretty powerful end-to-end mHealth consumer application, with HealthVault integration likely the first of many.

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