Mobile Solutions, From Start to Finish

According to the American Marketing Association’s Director of Information Systems Bob Panger, mobile is either the first or second priority for an association.

He recommends analyzing what your audience needs and tailoring your mobile strategy to achieve those needs. “If you’re going mobile, you need to really understand your audience—who is the customer you are trying to hit and what do they look at as valuable,” Panger said in an article in Associations Now, “so that if you go there, it’s going to be something that they are going to want and that they’re going to use.”

But it all comes back to whether you focus your efforts on an app or a website. Charlie Melidosian, chief information officer at the Association Management Center, explained that you can’t really pick one. It’s all about spreading your message, and the more channels you can funnel this information into, the more well-received your message will be.

Apps, however, have a great advantage. They can push information and news to members and engage them proactively versus the passive communication of a website. Mobile is here to stay. Associations just need to find the path that works to disseminate their message.

mHealth is a popular term in the health-care realm. It has appeared in mainstream news outlets and has even managed to be turned into a hashtag on Twitter.  But what exactly is mHealth?
 
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, mHealth is defined as “the use of mobile and wireless devices to improve health outcomes, healthcare services, and health research.” Chances are you utilize an aspect of mHealth in your everyday life. Convenient, right?
 
It can be very convenient if you know what you are looking for. There are 40,000 mobile apps that are available for consumers, leaving them wondering which ones are reliable and provide accurate information.  Even the FDA has taken interest, requiring that medical app companies seek FDA approval for any medical claims.
 
The infographic below (http://www.business2community.com/infographics/smartphone-smart-healthcare-infographic-0287694) shows the evolution of the mHealth realm and how it is and will change the way your look at health.

Ahead of the mHealth Summit, AT&T has released its top-five list for 2013.

1. 1. In 2013, we will see a shift from “unsponsored apps to meaningful sponsored mHealth solutions” that will be supported and pushed by providers of insurance, healthcare and employee benefits. The result will be higher patient adoption and engagement.
    
2. 2. We will start to see an increase in healthcare data moved into the cloud. Hospitals and health care institutions will be able to provide data analytics to better manage costs by finding and addressing patient needs earlier.
    
3. 3. There will be an increase in remote patient monitoring on the large scale, as more hospitals will be adopting the accountable care organization model to reduce costs.
    
4. 4. AT&T also expects that integrated mHealth applications will be created to connect with other devices, apps and data for more holistic healthcare. Information will be safely shared across platforms despite the vendor.
    
5. 5. Finally, an upswing of telehealth is expected to bridge the gap between resources and patient demand.