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Follow-up from ATA Fall Forum

Last week, I joined Steve Dean of Falls Church, Va.-based Inova Health System’s Inova Telemedicine Program on stage at the American Telemedicine Association’s Fall Forum in Toronto for what turned out to be a very well-received session on mobile apps and devices finding their way into clinical workflows. It was either a Letterman-style top 10, or, as Dean described it, a Siskel and Ebert-style discussion and review of 10 popular and/or interesting apps.

In one example, Dean noted that Aetna’s iTriage consumer app had been downloaded more than 9.5 million times. One audience member questioned the relevance of that number, suggesting that many people download an app, try it once and decide not to use it again. She asked if we had any actual usership statistics. I said I would contact Aetna and find out, then post the answer here on this blog.

An Aetna spokeswoman didn’t have data on the number of iTriage users, but told me that iTriage has nearly 60 million user sessions per year. (For what it’s worth, the app also passed 10 million downloads last week, she added.)

Here are our slides from that presentation. We alternated, with Dean presenting AirStrip OB, AliveCor, Asthmapolis (which changed its name last week to Propeller Health), iTriage and Welldoc. I opened discussion on DrawMD, mym3, Walgreens, Fitbit and various apps from the VA and CMS. Download ATA Fall 2013 v3.pdf

I realize context might be missing from just looking at these slides, but the ATA tells me video will soon be available online through the ATA Learning Center. (For now, access is restricted to ATA members, but the site promises non-member access “soon.”)

 

September 18, 2013 I Written By

I'm a freelance healthcare journalist, specializing in health IT, mobile health, healthcare quality fast $5000 loans-cash.net with bad credit, hospital/physician practice management and healthcare finance.

Patient engagement: Check me out in ‘US News’

I’ve just had my first story published in a major national magazine, or at least the online version of one, namely US News and World Report. It’s about patient engagement strategies for hospitals and medical practices in the context of EHRs, for the magazine’s “Hospital of Tomorrow” feature, and I’m getting good feedback so far. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited. Check it out here.

Also, I’ll be presenting on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. EDT at the American Telemedicine Association’s Fall Forum in the non-American (but very North American) city of Toronto. It’s there because this year’s ATA president is Dr. Ed Brown, president of the Ontario Telemedicine Network, right there in the T.O.  Steve Dean of Falls Church, Va.-based Inova Health System’s Inova Telemedicine Program and I will be counting down a top 10 of mobile apps we deem to be prominent, successful or highly useful. (The description in the online program is wrong as of this writing.)

September 7, 2013 I Written By

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MedAssurant is now Inovalon. Does Inova Health know?

Healthcare data analytics company MedAssurant today announced that it has changed its name to Inovalon. From the press release:

Inovalon is a newly coined term created by combining innovation, value, and action. Within the name are also key elements of the words nova and valor. ‘Innovation’ is not just a patented formula, but a signature form. It is built in causal sequence on three principles: Insight, Intervention, and Impact. ‘Nova’ conjures images of great energy and passion bursting forth, intensity of light, and a source of life. ‘Value’ is a cornerstone of the Company’s offerings and a commitment to its clients. ‘Valor’ conveys bold determination and integrity. And ‘On’ communicates a strong call to action.

OK, that’s a mouthful, and some branding consultant probably got paid handsomely to come up with that.

Thing is, Inovalon is based in Bowie, Md., near Washington, D.C. Right there in the same metro area, in Falls Church, Va., is integrated delivery network Inova Health System. (My educated guess is that the “nova” part comes from the fact that Inova is in Northern Virginia, often referred to as NoVa.) Will we find confusion in the marketplace? Worse, will Inovalon soon be getting a call from Inova’s lawyers?

 

June 5, 2012 I Written By

I'm a freelance healthcare journalist, specializing in health IT, mobile health, healthcare quality fast $5000 loans-cash.net with bad credit, hospital/physician practice management and healthcare finance.

‘Fierce’ events at HIMSS


I’m not exactly the type of person to be hawking “public appearances” and such, but I will be involved, in my capacity as senior editor of three FierceMarkets publications, in a couple of events at the upcoming HIMSS conference in Atlanta.

The main event, so to speak, is the free networking bash that FierceHealthIT is hosting on Tuesday, March 2, from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. It takes place at the World of Coca-Cola, a tourist attraction in its own right. If you’ve never been to Coke’s slick headquarters, it’s definitely worth seeing. It may be hard to to imagine getting excited about something as simple as a soda brand, but the World of Coke is actually a lot of fun and offers tastings of the secret Coke recipe as it exists in countries around the world. And of course, plenty of mixers will be on hand in case you want something a little stronger in your soda cup.

I’ll be at the party, along with the entire Fierce team. Stop by and say hi. It will be great to put face to a name.

For you early risers—and I admit, I normally am not among you—FierceMobileHealthcare and, from another part of the company, FierceWireless, are joining to co-host An Executive Breakfast on Creating a Successful mHealth Initiative.

This exclusive industry event will be held Tuesday, March 2 from 7 to 8:15 a.m. at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel. Our special guests will be Ram Appalaraju, senior VP for marketing at Meru Networks; Geoffrey Brown, senior VP & CIO at Inova Healthcare System in Northern Virginia; Deborah Gash, VP & CIO at Saint Luke’s Health System, Kansas City, Mo.; and Chris Gray, industry solutions manager for heathcare at Sprint Nextel.

FierceWireless Editor-in-Chief Sue Marek will host an intimate roundtable discussion as these executives answer tough questions about the pros and cons of incorporating mobile into the healthcare industry; progress being made to overcome some of the challenges; and lessons learned from early adopters of m-health. Of course, we’ll leave plenty of time for your questions.

The breakfast costs is $65. You can register and pay via a secure server at: http://www.fiercemobilehealthcare.com/himssbreakfast.

I hope to see you at either or both events.

There’s going to be a blogger meet-up, too. I’ll have details in another post.

Oh, I am uploading this from 33,000 feet above Kansas, on a flight from Tucson to Chicago, thanks to the Wi-Fi service available on this plane. (Or is it considered downloading when the server is miles below you?) Talk about mobile!

February 11, 2010 I Written By

I'm a freelance healthcare journalist, specializing in health IT, mobile health, healthcare quality fast $5000 loans-cash.net with bad credit, hospital/physician practice management and healthcare finance.