Panel Discussion: Mobile Health

Richard Adler(IFTF) and Eric Holmen(from SmartReply) discuss Mobile Health

Mobile Phones are universal. Mobile phone saturation 100% in the next decade? Worldwide penetration over 3 billion! What are the opportunities? What are the interventions?

Richard is describing how powerful his iPhone is, however decrying the weakness of the 2G network. Looking forward to 4G which will be pervasive broadband networking.

How the phone is a health tool.
Richard: There are services where you can text the name of the product and you will get back more info than the label contains. i.e. fishphone: Which fish to order, you will get info on sustainability, mercury content, endangered? etc.

You can find Heidi the Nutritionist on signs in front of foods in the Grocery. Text her to help make a decision about which product is healthier. She is like a wellness concierge.

Geolocate: there is an awareness of where you are when you have your phone. You could have tips sent to you even away from stores, i.e. farmers markets, Napa wine festivals. You could be in a virtual walking group; with a pedometer attached to your phone, you have distance and position.

Brightkite: tells you who is nearby, what they are doing. Like twitter with a position or location

Twitter Smoking Cessation: can help you fight the triggers that make you want to smoke. It can also trigger communication with a friend or counselor to intervene in a bad situation. This doubled the quit rate over traditional methods (citation?)

To participate: text SMOKE to 54989

There is also a walking tool for tracking how much you've walked.
to participate: text LINDORA to 47201

CDC working on a Bluetooth Glucometer. Someone taking their blood sugar reading would send it in to a website along with notes. A counsellor would evaluate notes and patterns and make suggestions. The idea being, "Can you use technology to self manage health."

Considering the kinds of telemetry being developed along with technologies like bluetooth and broadband and your mobile phone tied to social media opens up endless opportunities for support groups, second - 10th opinions, monitoring of chronic conditions, recovery and therapy.

[Note: Krash63 just twittered "Check out http://summize.com/search?q=hot+bloggers for real time twitter on new vs. old media controversy]

Grocery Chain wanted to generate a call to action: Text Deli to xxxxx. after a few weeks tehy sent a text message "Buy 1 Get one Free Rotissery Chicken between 5-6." Activated people instantly. They sold out of chickens but also got an uptick in overall grocery sales at that time.

Sousveillance - The ability to track or watch surveillance tools in your area. This has also led to using the public to watch things from traffic to avian flu.