What Consumer Medical Device is The Best Form Factor?

I’ve been thinking a lot about the various form factors that are being used by consumer medical device companies lately. I think this interest was sparked when I heard a couple of the following statements:

“We’re about to enter a real battle for the wrist.”

“One of the keys to broad adoption is to build a product on top of an existing habit.”

The first statement really highlights the number of wrist based monitoring devices that are on the market. I agree that there’s going to be a real battle for the wrist. Interestingly enough, the second statement highlights why there’s going to be a real battle for the wrist. Many people are use to having a watch on their wrist. So, a product that is on the wrist is building on people’s habit of wearing a wrist watch.

What are your thoughts on the various form factors that are being used for medical devices:
-Wrist Bands
-Chest Straps
-Pant Clips
-Shoe Clips
-Arm Straps
-Head Straps
-Hand Held
-Pocket Stored
-Full Shirt
-Full Shorts

Are there any other form factors I’m missing? I’d love to start a real deep discussion on the various form factors and the pros and cons of each.

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March 27, 2013 I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 6000 articles with John having written over 3000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 14 million times. John also manages Healthcare IT Central and Healthcare IT Today, the leading career Health IT job board and blog. John launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: and and .

Filed Under: Gadgets  Healthcare IT  Medical Devices  mHealth  Mobile Health Care
Tags:    Medical Devices      Wrist Bands

SlimKicker Turns Tracking Food and Exercise Into a Game

If incentives cause people to lose weight, does competition do it as well? Well, SlimKicker, might prove if that is true as well.

At first glance, SlimKicker looks like just about any other food and exercise diary. You can enter exercise, food, and track your weight and other goals. However, it hosts different challenges that its users can join, and some of them yield actual prizes — not just badges like many sites have. Many of the challenges give you points for winning, which I will talk about next.

SlimKicker is similar to Weight Watchers in the sense that is point-based. However, instead of losing points for the foods you eat, you get them. The healthier the food, the more points you get. And what can you use the points for? From what I can tell, you can redeem them for prizes, but I have yet to figure out

One of my favorite parts of SlimKicker is the visualization aspect of it. You can upload a photo of the rewards that you want, when you reach a certain goal our level. When you reach those, SlimKicker lets you know, and you can redeem the reward. While it is up to you to provide the reward “promised,” it’s a nice reminder to see a reward whenever you login.

SlimKicker’s goal is to help its users keep motivation. How many of us have gotten all revved up about a new exercise regimen, or diet, only to give up on it a week later? I know I’m not the only one. With the challenges and inspiration feed that SlimKicker has, it is easier to stay motivated.

I know I talk a lot about food and exercise trackers here, but there are just so many, and to be honest, many of them have really unique features. One of the best ways to stay healthy, and out of the doctor’s office, is by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and by using these websites and apps, you can do just that.

There is a free app for iOS devices, which can be downloaded here.

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March 25, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: Apple  Health Care  Health Games  Healthcare Social Media  iPad  iPhone  Medical Devices  mHealth  Mobile Health Care  Patient Home Monitoring
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NetPulse Brings Fitness Apps and Equipment Into One Place

I’ve talked about a lot of different devices that were created to track (and help users meet) fitness and health goals. With all the options, it can get kind of overwhelming!  Especially when you have to transfer the information from your fitness device, to your food and exercise tracker. There’s a new platform that aims to simplify all this data into one place, making it easier to track.

NetPulse is similar to Microsoft’s HealthVault that I recently talked about. Working with several third-party apps, as well as fitness equipment workers, NetPulse brings them all together in one platform and helps them work together to help users reach their ultimate fitness goals.

These companies have fitness equipment assocated with NetPulse:

  • LifeFitness
  • Woodway
  • Matrix
  • Octane
  • TechnoGym
  • True
  • StarTrac

And the 3rd party apps that are working with NetPulse include:

  • MyFitnessPal
  • MapMyFitness
  • FitBit
  • CarePass

I was excited to see a couple of very well-known apps that can be used at NetPulse. I think that was a smart move to try and get those companies on board, because to me, they seem like the apps that most people probably use. MyFitnessPal is definitely my favorite food and exercise tracker, and if I were to want to use something like NetPulse, the fact that MyFitnessPal would be a determining factor.

One additional feature that NetPulse has that I thought was neat is the club app. It allows you to check out class schedules and track your exercise at your fitness club. While it works best if your club has fitness equipment that is compatible with NetPulse, even if it doesn’t, the xCapture feature lets you take pictures of the end-of-workout stats to record late. You get credit for checking out the class schedules, and all types of workouts can be tracked.

After you’ve set up your account, you can start to find out what NetPulse is all about. You can set up fitness and health goals to be tracked, sign up for challenges, and compete, team up, and encourage others.

This is really cool, and I think people that are really passionate about using mobile technology to track their exercise and nutrition will really get a lot of out of this. I’ll definitely be interested in trying it out once it’s available for the public!

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March 22, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: Android  Apple  Gadgets  Health Care  Healthcare IT  Medical Devices  mHealth  Mobile Health Care  Patient Home Monitoring  Smart Phones  Social Networking Health
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Smart Phones and mHealth Apps May Be Taxable

Do you love using your smart phone for medical purposes? Chances are, if you’re reading this, you probably do. Well, it sounds like Obamacare might just take some of the fun out of it.

According to Fox News, under the ACA, medical device manfacturers carry a 2.3 percent tax. And since smart phones and tablets can be used for medical reasons, they might just fall under that as well. And apparently, the FDA has indicated they are looking into this regulation. And Rep. Marsha Blackburn, vice chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said back in 2011 that this is not good news for consumers:

It is going to drive up the cost to consumers and it’ll drive up the cost of your cell phone.

I don’t know about you, but my cell phone bill is already way too high — and my husband and I even split the bill with my mom, dad, and little brother. Even the thought of possibly being taxed makes me want to get rid of any of my mHealth apps and devices. Of course, I won’t, because I really use them, but I do hope that this doesn’t actually happen.

I can’t imagine there is anything positive about this, but if you can think of any, please, enlighten me. I think that this will make many people turned off to the idea of mHealth, because I know that at least for me, using my smart phone to help manage my health is, in part, to help me save money. Adding a tax to smart phones and tablets will make it harder to seem like I’m doing that.

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March 20, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: Health Care  Healthcare IT  Healthcare Social Media  iPad  iPhone  Medical Devices  mHealth  Mobile Health Care  Patient Home Monitoring  Smart Phones  Tablets
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Microsoft HealthVault Makes Managing Health Apps and Devices Easier

If you are looking for a program to help organize all aspects of you and your family’s healthcare, Microsoft HealthVault might be just what you’re looking for. It has just about everything, from keeping track of health records, to managing fitness. Here are the main categories on HealthVault, and their features, summarized from here:

  • Organize your family’s health information: Keep health records in one place, details like medications, blood pressure and health history, organize children’s health information for immediate access, and just store information for easy access. 
  • Be better prepared for doctor’s visits and unexpected emergencies: You can create an emergency health profile, information can be easily accessed from any device that has an Internet connection, and be able to share information at doctor’s appointments.
  • Create a more complete picture of your health, with you at the center: Lab results and visit records from participating healthcare facilities, store and share images, and monitor chronic conditions
  • Achieve your fitness goals: Set goals, track exercise, and celebrate success.

Here is a list of all the devices and apps that can be connected to HealthVault. There are obviously a lot, which really makes HealthVault a very versatile tool. As I read more about it, it really does seem like a very valuable tool. Especially if someone feels kind of overwhelmed about having tons of different apps, this condensed them down and makes them a little easier to handle.

You can sign up for HealthVault here, and it is available HealthVault is available for Windows 8 devices and can be downloaded from the Windows App Store and also can be used on the iPhone.

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March 18, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: Apple  Health Care  Healthcare IT  Medical Devices  mHealth  Mobile Health Care
Tags:HealthVault      Microsoft Healthvault  Windows 8  Windows App Store

Sodium 101 Helps Combat Excessive Sodium Intake

Whenever we go to the store, my husband meticulously analyzes the nutrition label on the food we buy, specifically looking at the amount of sodium in the product. While it makes shopping take a little longer, I’m glad he does it. Especially after reading this article about how studies are showing that too much salt may trigger certain autoimmune diseases.

But, it’s not always so easy to look at the labels. Yet keeping track of a person’s sodium intake is so important. The Mayo Clinic reports that Americans should have less than 2,300 mg a day (and under 1,500 mg if you are 51 or older,) and the average American gets around 3,400 mg each day. It definitely sounds like a problem to me.

So that’s where Sodium 101 comes in. This is an app created to combat the problem of too much sodium, and help people make healthier choices. It makes it easier to make low-sodium choices, especially when having take out. The app includes tons of features, such as:

  • Tracking sodium intake, specific for your age group
  • Track sodium in packaged food
  • View sodium content of takeout food
  • Listing of over 2,000 food items in popular takeout chains
  • A converter that helps calculate the amount of sodium in any product
  • Track progress
  • Share totals on social networks

Keep in mind, this is an app created in Canada, so not all the information will probably be fit for someone in the United States. However, I think that anyone could make some use of it.  I’m not sure why anyone would want to share their daily sodium totals on Facebook or Twitter, but to each his own I guess.

My sodium intake is actually something I’ve been trying to pay a lot closer attention to when I make meals for my family and me. This app could be really helpful for that, and helping me make better choices. The app has some great visuals though, and it looks nice.

It’s only available for iOS devices, but, it is free. Download it here.

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March 14, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: Apple  Health Care  Healthcare IT  iPad  iPhone  Medical Devices  mHealth  Mobile Health Care
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Do Financial Incentives Inspire Weight Loss?

It looks like GymPact had the right idea. The Science World Report recently reported on studies from the Mayo Clinic about the correlation between weight loss  and monetary compensation for doing so.

A previous study by the Mayo clinic found that financial incentives can help people lose weight, and that participants that had some kind of financial incentive at stake were more likely to follow a program strictly. An even newer study by the Mayo Clinic found that the participants who did have a financial incentive noticed body weight reduction AND follows weight loss programs more strictly.

So what was at stake? The participatns in the incentive groups were told that, if they achieved their goal of losing four pounds a month, they would receive $20 each month. And, on the flip side, if they didn’t meet the goal, they owed $20. That money went to a pool, and anyone in the incentive groups were entered to win the pool at the end of the study. Sounds pretty similar to the idea behind GymPact.

Steven Driver, M.D., the lead author of the study said:

The take-home message is that sustained weight loss can be achieved by financial incentives. The financial incentives can improve results, and improve compliance and adherence.

I definitely think this study makes sense. I mean, who isn’t motivated by money, or maybe even more so, the potential to lose money? Sometimes I wish I had something like hanging over my head to work out, because I know I would definitely be motivated by financial incentives. It’s definitely interesting though.

I do wonder how many of the people in the incentive groups kept the working out up and the weight off after the study ended and they no longer were motivated by money. While one would help they would still be successful, I have my doubts. It seems like if you aren’t motivated for the right reasons, like having a healthier lifestyle, it could be easy to fall off the wagon if you weren’t worried about losing money.

Regardless, I’m interested to see if any companies will take this idea and try and incorporate it into an app or something, like GymPact has. If it gets people moving, I’m all for it.

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March 12, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: Health Care  Healthcare IT  mHealth  Mobile Health Care
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Happtique Unveils Find Draft of Certification Standards

Because I’ve covered Happtique a few times in the past, I thought I would do a brief update on the latest from the company.

Happtique announced on February 27th that the final draft of the app certification standards are completed. They can be viewed here. The standards fall into four categories that mHealth apps will be evaluated and certified against. These cateogires are operability, privacy, security and content. While the company isn’t yet accepting apps to be certified, app creators can expect to pay between $2,500 and $3,000 to have their app reviewed.

Fierce Mobile Healthcare reported that Ben Chodor, CEO of Happtique, told them that the mHealth market is a “Wiild West” environment. This is because “no one knows where they come from and the apps haven’t been properly reviewed.” And with there being more than 40,000 mHealth apps available right now, there’s definitely bound to be some bad ones. These apps could range from just having inaccurate information, to making outrageous claims.

In the same article, Fierce Mobile Healthcare talked about how a recent probe from the New England Center for Investigative Reporting showed how there are a lot of deceptive mHealth apps out there. As they put it, “consumers are being ‘bamboozled by hucksters.’”  The survey found that, of the 1,500 apps involved, more than 20 percent were not legitimate, and could possibly endanger people. Kind of scary. One would hope someone would be able to discern if something is real or not, but I imagine there’s some pretty savvy people out there who can make something look more real than it actual is.

I’m excited that it looks like Happtique is just about ready to start reviewing apps and certifying them. I think that it will really help add legitimacy to mHealth, and hopefully get more people to trust it — consumers and physicians alike.

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March 11, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: Health Care  mHealth  Mobile Health Care  Smart Phones
Tags:Apps  Ben Chodor      mHealth Certification    New England Center for Investigative Reporting

Three Health Apps Women Should Consider

I’ve posted my fair share about mHealth apps that are geared toward women, so I found this article at Fierce Mobile Healthcare very interesting. Apparently, 47 percent of people who use one or more mHealth apps, are using a women’s health app as well. This was in the Citrix ByteMobile Mobile Analytics Report.

The report also revealed that about 40 percent of people using one or more mHealth app are using a fitness-specific app. I felt like this was rather telling of what type of people are most involved with mHealth. It’s no wonder I see, what seems like, a new woman-focused health app popping up every day. There appears to be a great demand for women’s health apps. Just for fun, here are a few that I found. There’s definitely quite a few!

52 Weeks for Women’s Health: Created by the National Institutes of Health, this app was created to help women recognize health risks for not only themselves, but their family members. It has a personal health section, where the woman can record medications, medical conditions and disabilities. There are 52 health topics, so one for each week, for women to study and read up on, to help promote a healthier lifestyle. It offers suggestions for improving the health and well-being of the woman, and her family. It is a free app available for Android and iOS devices

MyPillApp: This is a great app for any woman that uses pill, patch, or ring contraception. It can be customized for any of those forms of birth control, and has quite a few features. It has a daily reminder feature, that obviously reminds a woman to take her bill. There is a history tracking function, where the user can write down notes to remember for future doctor’s appointments. It has a virtual “pill pack,” to provide a visual for how much is left. There’s even a snooze alert, just in case someone can’t take their pill when the alert goes off.  It is available for free on iOS devices, though I’m sure there is something similar for Android.

Breast Self Exam: Women are encouraged to perform a breast self exam monthly. In fact, I’ve known a few people who discovered they had cancer because they did this. However, it can be difficult to know exactly how to do this. This app provides a short tutorial on how to do the exam, a record can be kept about each exam, and it was designed by physicians. It is .99 on iOS devices.

 

I’m sure there are many more out there, and these are just a sampling. And because I think men’s health is just as important as women, look for an upcoming post on some great men’s health apps that are available.

 

52 weeks for women’s health

The easy-to-use mobile app can help women identify health risks for themselves and their families, and can help them create and maintain healthy lifestyles throughout their lives. Questions to ask health care providers, a glossary of health terms, and health screening information and links to additional information from NIH institutes and centers expand the mobile app’s offerings.

Key features of the app are:

  • a personal health section for recording medications, medical conditions, and disabilities
  • a journal feature
  • a personal goal-setting section for health and lifestyle details

A variety of different skins can be applied to personalize the app, and it ca

 

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March 4, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: Android  Apple  Health Care  Healthcare IT  Healthcare Social Media  iPad  iPhone  Medical Devices  mHealth  Mobile Health Care  Social Networking Health  Tablets
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uChek Brings Urinalysis Home

Most doctor’s appointments tend to involve some kind of urine sample, at least it seems like it. Even though I’m sure no one really looks forward to this, urine tests can reveal a lot of information about a person’s health, and what may be causing problems. uChek, a product from Biosense Technologies, is helping make it possible for people to do this test at home.

uChek allows a person to use their phone to diagnose an at-home urine test. Basically, a person can purchase a uChek kit, which has a uChek color mat and sample urine dipsticks. The dipstick changes color according to the concentration of different analytes in urine. You then put the dipstick on the color mat, and then compare this to the uChek app. This will help to determine if there is anything amiss. It is compatible with the five most commonly used urine dipsticks, which can be purchased at pharmacies. Although it is recommended to use the uChek kit, someone can purchase the dipsticks are a pharmacy, and then compare it to the app manually. If the app isn’t used, accuracy may be lower because it takes longer to manually check.

When used correctly, uChek has 95 percent accuracy at identifying the concentration of up to 10 analytes — glucose, protein, ketones, urobilinogen, bilirubin, specific gravity, blood, pH, leukocytes, and nitrites. Being able to see this information can help a person who suspects they have certain illnesses, such as diabetes or a UTI, keep track of their symptoms. The app will create a graph with different readings over time.

The website makes sure to state that this is not a medical device, and not meant to diagnose illnesses and diseases. It is merely for informational reasons. I think this is pretty awesome. For example, I was thinking it could helpful for someone who is at risk for pre-eclampsia. Since that is often diagnosed through a urine sample, if someone wants to monitor their urine at home, they might be able to catch it early, and get treatment faster as well.

uChek isn’t available yet for purchase, or to be downloaded, but it will be soon. If this is something you are interested in, be sure to go enter your information on the site, so they can send you updates as they happen.

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March 1, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: Gadgets  Health Care  Healthcare IT  iPad  iPhone  mHealth  Mobile Health Care  Patient Home Monitoring
Tags:    uChek  Urinalysis