iPad 2 Highlights Mobile Healthcare AdvancementsiPad 2 Highlights Mobile Healthcare Advancements

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If the launch of Apple's iPad 2 is any indication of what's in store for mobile health, then 2011 promises to be a year of tremendous strides in the development of mobile devices and software applications used in healthcare.

In fact, the unveiling last week of the iPad 2, is the latest in a growing number of technology announcements by telecommunications companies, as well as hardware and software vendors, that will set the stage this year for further advancements in mobile health at hospitals, physician offices, and other healthcare delivery organizations.

Recent studies have already shown widespread adoption of the iPad among clinicians. Now with improvements added to the iPad 2, doctors may realize even more progress in the way they manage their digitized health records.

For a start, the iPad 2 boasts the A5 dual-core processor that makes it run much faster than the previous iPad, which was introduced last year. Additionally, graphics are processed up to nine times faster than the older device, which will enhance the delivery of medical images such as CT scans, x-rays, and ultrasound scans.

For the first time, the iPad 2 comes outfitted with cameras -- one in the back and one in the front -- plus a gyroscope. Doctors, particularly in rural areas where there are fewer specialists and resources, can take pictures of their patients' wounds, upload the images, and share them with colleagues as they seek to improve patient care. Additionally, the iPad 2 is thinner at 8.8 mm (the first iPad was 13.4 mm) and lighter (1.3 pounds versus 1.5 pounds), which should make it easier for doctors to carry the device from one medical appointment to another while taking advantage of the 10-hour battery life. Apple will sell models that work on AT&T and Verizon 3G networks. The cost has remained the same at $499. The new iPad 2 will ship on March 11.

At the iPad 2 launch event, a video presentation highlighted the iPad's use in various work environments. During the presentation, Dr. John Halamka, CIO at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said the iPad's ability to access medical records has empowered doctors to be more productive and decisive because iPads "give doctors at the point-of-care the tools they need at the exact moment the doctor can make a difference."

Halamka also said the iPad is bringing patients and doctors together as they discuss each patient's medical condition. "In fact, doctors are engaging patients by showing them images [and] showing them data on the screen."

A faster, smarter iPad 2 helps not only the clinicians who use the product in their work environment, but it also breathes life into a growing number of health applications being developed by vendors looking to organize, store, and share medical data. In fact, vendors are quick to note that their products are iPad ready -- an added selling point for their own health related products.

For example, at last month's Health Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) conference in Orlando, Fla., GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company, demonstrated the applications it plans to roll out this year to let physicians remotely access its portfolio of electronic medical records (EMRs), including Centricity Advance and Centricity Practice Solution, on the Apple iPad and iPhone.

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February also saw the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) give 510(k) clearance to a new mobile radiology application developed by Cleveland-based MIM Software. The software, called Mobile MIM, allows physicians to view medical images on Apple's iPhone and iPad mobile devices, and marked the first time that the FDA had given clearance to a mobile health application that will help clinicians view images and make medical diagnoses based on computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and nuclear medicine technology, such as positron emission tomography (PET).

To help the mobile health industry speed up the clearance of medical devices and the software that operates them, as well as to foster innovation, the FDA has also proposed an Innovation Pathway, which is a priority review program for new, breakthrough medical devices.

According to Irene Berlinsky, IDC's senior research analyst covering multiplay services, mobile is emerging as a key enabler of and platform for telehealth.

"Besides the obvious benefits of always-on, ubiquitous connectivity, it leverages something most doctors and patients already own -- a mobile phone or, increasingly, a tablet. This is why we have seen so many healthcare solutions coming out that incorporate wireless," Berlinsky said.

On the telecommunications front, the year has also seen significant progress. Last month, AT&T announced that AT&T Healthcare Community Online, the company's cloud-based health information exchange solution, has added a mobility interface that now allows smartphones to access relevant patient information virtually anytime and anywhere.

The company also launched two patient care technology pilots, which include plans to implement a telehealth project at St. Joseph Health System, a $4.6 billion Catholic healthcare organization. The project will let patients and physicians in disparate locations meet and consult via immersive video utilizing AT&T Telepresence Solution.

The second pilot involves the Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), the country's largest customer-owned health insurer, which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. HCSC plans to pilot the AT&T mHealth Manager diabetes management system utilizing the WellDoc DiabetesManager. The planned program will be initiated with HCSC employees to help them manage their diabetes in real time and connect them to care providers.

Not to be outdone, Sprint announced in mid-February that it has partnered with BL Healthcare, a provider of next-generation remote health management solutions to the health care industry and participating partner in the Sprint M2M Collaboration Center. Sprint will provide 3G connectivity to BL Healthcare's latest lineup of telemedicine solutions that let patients receive professional medical care in their homes, at work, at nursing and assisted living homes, and remote clinics such as pharmacies or retail stores.

As companies plan ahead for the next phase in mobile health, the hope is that these devices will afford clinicians the opportunity to manage digitized medical records while preventing data mishaps. "Sometimes doctors are overwhelmed with data," Halamka said in his video presentation.

IDC's Berlinsky agrees. "For doctors and mobile health workers such as nurses making house calls, mobile solutions permit fast access to patient data from anywhere and allow them to be more efficient at their jobs. Solutions that allow patients to send data directly to doctors will have to be carefully calibrated to doctors' preferences, however -- few doctors want patient data to deluge their smartphones," Berlinsky said.

Nevertheless, Berlinsky predicts a bright future for mobile health devices. "Wireless will do great things for healthcare professionals, but the true revolutionary potential of mobile health is for consumers. The mobile devices hold great promise as a tool to engage patients in managing chronic conditions -- or prevent them in the first place."