Mobile health rising

Mobile health possibilities have been on the horizon for many a year, but this may be the year that they hit their stride, so expect to hear a lot of intense discussion on the subject at TEPR. After all, the core drivers of healthcare change--physicians--are adopting mobile technology in droves. In fact, research from technology analyst firm the Diffusion Group, predicts that 70 percent of doctors will own a smart phone or PDA within the next two years.

Right now, few providers have rolled out mobile access to core applications, partly because they simply haven't had the time and money. But increasingly, vendors are including mobile capabilities in their solutions, largely because hospitals and medical practices are demanding that they do.

Many problems still need to be solved before mobile health solutions become standard, and there's no doubt that health IT administrators will need to focus on other pressing issues first. But at TEPR, and other health IT shows this year, mobile health should be an extremely hot topic. It will happen--it's just a matter of time.

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