mHealth is different in China

In the Arizona pilot, 50 heart patients, many of whom lived in rural communities far from the hospital, were given wireless devices to track weight, blood pressure, and activity levels daily. The data was automatically transmitted to health providers, who could then follow up with tips and health advice.
The hospital system found, at the end of six months, that, compared to the six months prior to enrollment, these patients had fewer hospitalizations (an average of 1.82 versus 3.26) and fewer days hospitalized (an average of 5.13 versus 13.98). All in all, the hospital estimates it saved $92,317 per patient.
“The tools were cool, but if you add a nurse to it it’s really cool,” Sorenson said. “Using the technology and being able to have a person [virtually] in their home, just putting the technology there and being able to talk a patient through an anxiety was key
China’s program was also designed to support rural communities that don’t have access to the same care found in big cities. The program involved distributing a 3G system — including smartphones with built-in ECG sensors, a web-based EMR software, and internet ready workstations — to community health clinics in rural areas in China. Clinics used these tools to perform cardiovascular screenings on more than 10,000 patients, 1,700 of whom were referred to higher-level clinics for treatment.  “mHealth is still in its fledgling state in China...Read More