The mHealth movement

mHealth is the name of the concept of promoting or providing healthcare services via mobile phones. Last year, I contacted the chair of UC-San Diego's Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems to ask about projects they had using mobile phones to promote physical activity and weight loss. He gave me the impression that they were just scratching the surface.

I'll write more of UCSD's projects and supporting data later. For now, I want to highlight a couple uses of mobile technology in personal health.

A July 16, 2010 NY Times article covers apps that display calorie information on a large number of foods and beverages (LoseIt is the one featured here) and calculate limits, which people use to help themselves better restrict their calorie consumption and hopefully lose some weight.

I am a big believer in giving people (or consumers in business-speak) more information (like calories in their diet) so that they can better choices for themselves. Not all people will make better choices, but the ones who want to are better enabled (or empowered in the lingo) to do so. People who are motivated to lose weight are more likely to track their consumption, and...

When you track calories closely, you lose more weight, said Dr. Lawrence Cheskin, associate professor of health, behavior and society at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

In another passage, modest gains (or as it were, loses in weight and average blood sugar) are reported by a healthcare provider:

Dana Green, a diabetes specialist at St. Joseph Healthcare Diabetes Institute of Behavioral Medicine in Bangor, Me., has been testing the LoseIt program with a small group of his patients, including the Dodges. Since April, almost all of the 17 patients, ranging in age from 48 to 76, have lost weight and lowered their blood sugar. One man lost six pounds; two of the women in the program were able to reduce their insulin intake by 20 percent, Mr. Green said.

“Patients begin to see their patterns and habits and so make better decisions,” he said. “I’m extremely optimistic.”

There's a companion piece with four recommended apps for losing weight.

Another interesting app keeps one's immunization records together. I like the idea of this app. I was going through my old files and found I have immunization records from elementary school, high school, medical school and from the city health department when I got vaccinated before trips.

It would be awesome to have all those papers collated into one record of vaccine shots. Why? Well, say I step on a rusty nail. And I go to the doctor and ask for a tetanus shot. I'll be asked when was the last time I had a booster shot, and I'd have to say I have no idea. It would be useful to have an idea.

Interestingly, there are apps out there that do that for adults and for children's immunizations. So there you have it. One kind of mobile app that promotes healthy behavior. A second kind that keeps all of your health info organized and easily accessible.