Every day, lives are saved and patients are treated with the help of rapidly evolving healthcare technology. Doctor's offices and operating rooms are not the only places which are making use of new medical technology either, as even smartphones and other personal health and fitness monitoring solutions are entering the lives of everyday people. These tools are helping people from around the world keep healthy and increasing their overall quality of life, as well as increasing their ability to seek professional medical advice. Just this week alone, several new tools were developed and implemented that will keep people healthy for years to come.
Telemedicine is the practice of using a video client to remotely connect patients with doctors through the use of their computers, tablets and smartphones. The idea has received a good deal of attention as it could allow patients in remote locations to show their doctors exactly what's wrong with them – instantly, and without having to travel to a hospital. Now, telehealth provider MeMD has brought this concept into reality by announcing that their coverage has now extended to include all 50 states, including the District of Columbia. Regulations in place still currently limit the company from prescribing controlled substances like Tramadol or antidepressants, but this is still a monumental leap forward for telemedicine implementation.
BlackBerry has also thrown their hat in the ring of medical technology in an attempt to make up for their shrinking impact on the mobile device sector by investing in NantHealth, a prominent healthcare IT player. NantHealth is a provider of cloud-based delivery systems, and since BlackBerry is more focused on producing hardware as opposed to software for their devices, the pairing seems to be a match made in heaven. According to Blackberry CEO and executive chair John Chen, “This investment and planned collaboration aligns with the reliability, security and versatility of BlackBerry's end-to-end solutions ... NantHealth is a proven innovator in developing leading platforms that allow medical professionals to share information and deliver care efficiently. Blackberry's capabilities align closely with NantHealth's and this investment represents the type of forward-looking opportunities that are vital to our future.”
Medical professionals looking to answer health questions quickly and conveniently may be interested in Physicians Interactive's latest release of the
Omnio Medical App on both the Android and iPhone platforms. The app is available for free and has already seen tremendous success on the iPad, and now, according to Physicians Interactive CEO and Chairman Donato Tramuto, “Medical professionals are demonstrating that Omnio performs well within their workflow, with daily open rates for the app and the time spent on each visit growing tremendously over the past several months. Now, clinicians will be able to access, digest and share the same information they need to treat patients – immediately, right at the point of care – through their mobile phones as well.”
