The international hub for connecting the mobile health ecosystem

Note from the editor: We’ve become accustomed to being connected 24/7, and now, health and wellness are going mobile.  The mHealth Summit has emerged as the seminal and largest event in the mobile health sector, bringing together leaders and visionaries from across the mHealth ecosystem.  For three days, leaders and visionaries from tech, biz, providers and others, come together with policymakers, NGOs, researchers and academia to focus on advancing wireless technology to improve health outcomes in the US and globally.

CHICAGO (February 16, 2012) – The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)  announced today that the 2012 mHealth Summit will take place Dec. 3 -5 at  the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Washington D.C. The theme for the fourth annual summit is “Connecting the Mobile Health Ecosystem.” The mHealth Summit, a well-respected international conference, exhibition and networking event, is the largest gathering focused solely on the intersection of health and mobile information technology.

Verizon Wireless will return for the third year as the partnering sponsor of the summit and will again have a major presence on the exhibit floor. Strategic Affiliates include: Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), Anson Group (mHealth Regulatory Coalition), Ashoka, B2 Group, Center for Connected Health, Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), Continua Health Alliance, CTIA – The Wireless Association, GBCHealth, Medical Device Innovation, Safety and Security Consortium (MDISS), Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Rock Health, StartUp Health, UN Foundation and The Wireless Life Sciences Alliance (WLSA).

The 2012 mHealth Summit will also have an expanded exhibit floor to accommodate the anticipated increase in exhibitors and themed pavilions.  The conference program continues to draw on resources and tracks developed by mHIMSS in addition to branded sessions and tracks from the event’s strategic affiliates and partners. Overall, the 2012 mHealth Summit will offer attendees a comprehensive representation of the mobile technologies in healthcare looking at implementation and impact of its benefits and new opportunities that will advance health transformation through the use of mobile technologies.

HIMSS recently acquired the mHealth Summit from the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH).  FNIH remains actively involved in the event as an organizing partner along with the mHealth Alliance.  In related news, the former director of the mHealth Summit, Richard Scarfo has joined HIMSS as Vice President of Vendor Events and will lead the HIMSS business unit responsible for the event and other initiatives.

The acquisition of the mHealth Summit augments HIMSS current activities in the mobile healthcare space. These include an association, a community and the website (mHIMSS.org), dedicated to creating and distributing essential information and education products that are driving the mobile and wireless healthcare industries as well as hosting a large and growing community of mobile healthcare executives.

“In an increasingly mobile environment, the mHealth Summit helps HIMSS fulfill our vision to lead healthcare transformation not only through the best use of health information and management technology in a fixed environment — but now, as mobile health devices, sensors and apps are increasingly deployed and linked throughout the healthcare delivery system,” said H. Stephen Lieber, CAE, HIMSS President and CEO.

“HIMSS resources will enable the mHealth Summit to continue to grow and strengthen its position as the seminal international event in the mobile health space,” said Scarfo,  “The mHealth Summit will continue to provide the ideal environment for top decision-makers focused on advancing collaboration in the use of wireless technology to improve health outcomes in the United States and globally.”

For More Information, Please Go To:  www.mhealthsummit.org

The debut of Ford's Sync at IFA 2011

Ford Chief Technology Officer Paul Mascarenas spoke at the IFA show in Berlin about the Evos concept car that debuted at the Frankfurt Auto Show on September 15.

If Ford is on track with its concept car – the car becomes the hub of the connected and interactive lifestyle through the cloud – and enables people the freedom to work not only from home, office or coffee store but also from their car.  Like with other online services and commerce like from Amazon or iTunes, one inputs one’s preferences, musical tastes and general lifestyle choices and the car’s cloud will be equipped with software that analyses one’s life. The demonstration illustrated the connections in one’s daily lifestyle and choreographing one’s day based on the gathered information to improving business efficiency.

A person’s interaction with Ford’s demonstrated vision starts with the morning wakeup alarm and ‘it’ determining one’s daily itinerary including the best wake-up time based on current weather, traffic patterns and if one’s first morning meeting is delayed – to adjusting the temperature control at home when no one is there, warming-up the car and activating one’s favorite music, tracking and alerting you on the way as to traffic volumes, roadworks and other changeable conditions that can ruin or change plans.  One may find that one can expect a  smooth ride – so that ‘it’ can locate your friends in the area so that you can all meet at the local coffee house on the way to the office and know how much time one has to chat. Fuel consumption can also be anticipated, along with the location of suitable filling or recharging stations — and the best place to park near the office.

With its linkage to the workplace, it has been envisioned that the car is transformed into a cross between a chauffeur and a secretary — capable of addressing details such as one’s appointments, preferred ambient temperature, and launching applications – so that you are ready to go!    The car can also take into account preferred mealtimes, or even restaurants, and changes to calendar entries involving additional or cancelled meetings.

The flaw in Ford’s concept is that it is understandably devised for the road warrior who virtually lives in their car, and it assumes a consistent data connection wherever you go. In most cities that should not be a problem, but elsewhere there could be a need to switch between Wi-Fi, the phone network and possibly a satellite service, and bill the driver accordingly.