The Mobile Health Movement (mHealth)

Our general user conference theme for 2012 is wellness, and one of the items we gave all of our attendees was a pedometer to track their steps. We asked everyone at the end of yesterday’s presentations to send us their daily progress and awarded a Fitbit® gadget to the top five steppers.

More than a pedometer, these little trackers monitor your stairs, your steps, and even your calories burned. The idea is to reveal a more detailed fitness pattern and provide some extra movement motivation to earn another badge, or out-pace your friends in a challenge.

I’ve been hearing a lot more lately about mHealth as items like these become popular. A friend of mine has sneakers programmed to send Facebook posts chronicling her daily mileage. Another woman I know has a heart monitor and several other devices at home which automatically send updates to her physician. And last month I read that smartphones will soon be able to double as instruments to measure blood-oxygen levels, blood pressure and body temperature.

What are some of the larger implications of this mHealth movement? There is a lot of excitement around the ability to provide better care in remote regions around the globe. What about in your neighborhood? How do you see mHealth devices changing your health and your interaction with your care providers?