In an effort to deliver a convenient way to pay for patients and a mechanism to ensure adequate payment at the time of services provided, healthcare facilities and medical practices across the country are moving beyond credit cards and checks to invest in mobile payment technologies.

Earlier this spring, Wellero stepped up to the plate with a new offering that makes paying your doctor, lab, hospital or clinic easier than ever via a smartphone app that links patients and providers.

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While many healthcare professionals are still on the fence when it comes to mobile apps that patients can use to track and monitor various aspects of their health and well-being, everyday Americans are turning to mobile apps at a rapid rate. This leads many to believe that healthcare professionals may need to embrace mHealth in order to stay competitive in today’s tech savvy world.

At current date, 70% of Americans currently use some type of mobile app to manage and monitor their health and well-being. On top of that, 63% are interested in mHealth apps with more advanced reporting, tracking, and healthcare related features.

Currently the most popular mHealth apps are those that track daily caloric intake, weight, and physical activity. 53% of individuals who utilize mHealth apps to monitor their caloric intake found that they consume more calories on a daily basis than they had estimated, and another 23% found that they are less physically active than they had estimated.

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Accelrys, Inc., a provider of lifecycle management software and related solutions, has launched two new mobile applications supporting key life sciences workflows and real-time collaboration spanning both the ScienceCloud workspace and on-premises systems.

“ScienceCloud is a secure, SaaS-based, mobile-enabled information management and collaboration environment that improves data and knowledge sharing for globally networked researchers,” the company tells mHealthWatch in a written statement.
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The worldwide adoption of mobile health devices, solutions, and resources has been well documented across the global healthcare spectrum. According to the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, apps in particular have become ubiquitous in many aspects of our lives over the past five years, fueled by the widespread availability of tablet computers and smartphones.

Tens of thousands of health, wellness, and medical apps are now available for download to Apple or Android devices from online stores, IMS says, while cautiously noting that mHealth has not grown in all markets at the same accelerated pace observed elsewhere.

In recent years, for example, the United Arab Emirates has been slow to embrace the potential of mHealth. But this former-laggard has begun slowly warming to mobile health and could soon be classied as one of the world’s hottest emerging markets for mHealth.

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On Tuesday, Jawbone announced a collaboration with the World Economic Forum. The global innovator in smart audio devices and wearable technology says it will support delegates of the 44th Annual Meeting taking taking place this week, through Saturday in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland.

Pushing its wristband and app system known as Jawbone UP, Delegates are encouraged to join the Davos Health Challenge and move towards better health by using the solution to track their activity and sleep.
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mHealth is being deployed more widespread than ever in the realm of emergency pet care and general well-being.

To that end, a new Red Cross Pet First Aid App aims to put lifesaving information right in the hands of dog and cat owners.

The app is designed for pet owners and caretakers who need to provide emergency care until veterinary assistance is available.

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mHealthWatch was privy to a sneak peek at a new partnership confirmed publicly this morning by the team at Tapjoy, a thriving young mobile advertising network capable of reaching as many as 435 million mobile users monthly.

Nido Labs, creator of Alpha Trainer, one of the top-grossing fitness apps available, and Tapjoy will begin offering consumers a new way to get advanced 14-week workout programs directly to their mobile device.

The goal? Help users stay in shape and on budget.

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