Mhealth overview by The Wall Street Journal

Donna Cusano

The Wall Street Journal’s Personal Health section yesterday had an overview of some of the companies developing iPhone and other smartphone applications for health data and reminders.  Covered were Polka, The Carrot.com (fitness oriented, although you can design your own reports and share them), Ringful (which connects to Microsoft HealthVault, Google Health and Dossia, the ICD-10 helper and remote monitoring not explained on website), and AllOne Mobile (see our earlier writeups).  Ringful’s Asthma Journal, AllOne Mobile’s medical history views and reminders, and TheCarrot’s free trackers on vital signs, exercise and energy were profiled.  WebMD also plans to move into this space with iPhone and Blackberry mobile capability for individual WebMD records.   The article notes some major flaws in the model–none of these interface with physicians’ or hospitals’ EMRs.  But for the 3% (Forrester Research) who are the ‘early adopters’ of PHRs, the multiplicity of platforms allows for as much or as little use as you need.  Article (to access full text you must be a WSJ subscriber–unfortunately.)