For those in the healthcare industry, the annual HIMSS conference is noted as one of the largest and most influential health-focused events around.  For 2012, the event drew more than 37,000 attendees — breaking all previous records for attendance and exhibitor space.

Now, we’re learning that HIMSS12 broke yet another unique record — which is setting the world record for tweet volume at a health conference.  To celebrate this feat, HIMSS created a beautiful infographic to visualize the social media dominance the event achieved.  Enjoy.

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ATA 2012, the largest trade show dedicated entirely to telehealth, telemedicine, mHealth and remote healthcare technologies announced today that it’s grown even larger for this year’s event — now boasting nearly 200 vendors and showcasing thousands of telemedicine products and services — many of which debuting for the first time.

The event has grown 20% in terms of total exhibit space and has become one of the largest mHealth trade shows in existence.  ”The entire spectrum of the telemedicine industry will gather at ATA 2012,” said Jonathan Linkous, Chief Executive Officer of the American Telemedicine Association.  ”From hardware manufacturers to software developers, healthcare providers to telecom vendors, established industry players to innovative upstarts, the 2012 trade show is the complete world of telemedicine, telehealth and mHealth.”

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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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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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It was announced today that BodyMedia, a company providing mobile health monitoring services via an armband device, has raised $2.7M out of an anticipated $10M funding round.

The company’s armband device captures health data from users and measures things like how many steps a person takes throughout the day, sleep patterns and calorie output among other things, and then recommends activity and dietary adjustments based on the data.  Tied to the monitoring solution is the company’s FIT platform which includes an online activity manager and free mobile apps for its users.

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It’s been announced that ActiveCare, a provider of telehealth and Personal Emergency Response (PER) solutions has entered an agreement to acquire 4G Biometrics — a company who’s technology helps healthcare and insurance providers, as well as employers, manage risk and reduce costs associated with employees diagnosed with diabetes.

Diabetes management, and chronic care management in general, remains a huge issue that mobile and digital technologies are aiming to streamline.  Diabetes trails only cardiovascular disease as the most expensive disease to treat.  4G Biometrics helps people with Diabetes manage their disease and avoid acute events that cost healthcare and insurance providers millions of dollars per year by providing near-real-time blood glucose monitoring through Bluetooth-enabled devices.  When specific data points with any irregularities are spotted, the information is instantly communicated to individuals/care providers based on profiles defined by medical providers.

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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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