Question

Mobile and wireless devices are being increasingly used in the health care industry. Write a two-page paper that outlines five applications of these devices in this industry. Also, identify three mobile apps that could be used by medical personnel to increase their productivity.

Answer 1

Here I am providing the domain in which it is helpful you can add a few more if you like to increase the word count and quality of the text.

Mobile and wireless devices & its importance in the health care industry

Health care access, affordability, and quality are problems all around the world. There are well-established disparities based on income and geography, and the high costs of health care present affordability challenges for millions of different people. Large numbers of individuals do not receive the quality care that they need. Mobile technology offers ways to help with these challenges. Through mobile health applications, sensors, medical devices, and remote patient monitoring products, there are avenues through which health care delivery can be improved. These technologies can help lower costs by facilitating the delivery of care and connecting people to their health care providers. Applications allow both patients and providers to have access to reference materials, lab tests, and medical records using mobile devices. Complex mobile health applications help in areas such as training for health care workers, the management of chronic disease, and monitoring of critical health indicators. They enable easy to use access to tools like calorie counters, prescription reminders, appointment notices, medical references, and physician or hospital locators. These applications empower patients and health providers proactively to address medical conditions, through near real-time monitoring and treatment, no matter the location of the patient or health provider.
Innovations in Mobile Health Care Applications:  Such as the iWander app for Android devices is being used for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. It makes use of the GPS function of smartphones to track patient locations. If the individual travels away from their home or other known locations, it triggers a signal to the person’s family or caretaker to check on their status. Through geolocation coordinates, the person can easily be found and returned to the care setting.1 Social media sites are also helping patients cope with specific diseases. For example, diabetes-related complications represent a major source of emergency room visits. A study of the site at www.TuDiabetes.org had around 500 patients report their experience with hypoglycemic events, age, gender, use of insulin pumps, and health issues. The average person said they had suffered six insulin-related problems. From sharing their experiences, viewers could see what others had experienced and ways to cope with particular health emergencies.
Some of these applications have been developed for the cloud. A problem in the health care area is difficulty in connecting different devices. These “interoperability” challenges arise in multiple ways. In some cases, information systems are not able to communicate with one another. At other times, there are incompatibilities in terms of data files, semantics, or file-sharing protocols. Placing the wireless solution on a cloud storage system helps with connectivity issues and makes it easier to communicate across different information regimes. The Electronic Medical Information Exchange (known as eMix) represents an example of a cloud-based system. It allows health care providers and patients to access medical reports wherever they are. People can see medical imaging reports, lab tests, and medical background in a secure distribution system that helps people gain access to their records regardless of where they are located.
Remote Testing and Diagnosis: There has been a growth recently in “wearable sensors” and remote monitoring devices. Some of these products have been listed with the FDA, while others are off-shore devices that are not for sale in the United States. For example, researchers have developed a portable electrocardiogram (ECG) system for high-risk cardiac patients. It uses smartphones attached to heart monitors to transmit heart rhythm data to health providers. The software analyzes the ECG waveforms for possible abnormalities. Those requiring special attention are notified of possible problems that need to be addressed. Propeller Health has developed an inhaler with an asthma sensor built into it. The sensor tracks environmental conditions that pose possible dangers to asthma sufferers. By keeping track of external conditions as well as how often the person is taking medicine, the device helps manage asthma and keeps health providers informed about disease management.
Empowering Frontline Health Workers with Medical Knowledge: In many places around the world, frontline health workers have difficulty accessing medical information or learning from the experiences of health colleagues. Often times, they don’t have common medical reference materials or basic knowledge about diagnosis, treatment, and prescriptions. A project called “mPowering Frontline Health Workers” is addressing this problem by using mobile devices to provide the latest medical information to frontline health care providers. Through a digital repository provided by health experts, people such as midwives, nurses, and community health workers can use cell phones, smartphones, tablets, and laptops to get information on neonatal care, immunization, and childhood diseases. This helps them become more effective in delivering health care and reducing the death of children and mothers in developing nations. In South Africa, as an example, health providers use mobile devices with a library of clinical resources. Nurses and physicians can access the latest in medical information concerning diagnosis, treatment, and medication. They can look up data on drug interactions as well as ways to treat particular illnesses.