By: Don Fujiwara
AT&T No Stranger to mHealth
nSpire Health has signed on AT&T to provide wireless connectivity for nSpire's mobile data application, which will facilitate pharmaceutical trials of new respiratory products. Colorado-based nSpire offers products and services for respiratory care. Via its PiKoLogic device, nSpire monitors respiratory patients as they intake new products, and patients can input their response into the handset. The data is then uploaded wirelessly to the pharmaceutical companies conducting the trial. Those companies would evaluate products based on the information collected, and even forward those findings to support their cases for FDA approval.
Chip Owen, nSpire's global director of Clinical Trial Information Services, said, "Patient trials of new drugs are a very important part of research and development processes for international pharmaceutical companies, as this helps them to create and market new drugs. We knew we needed a cost-effective solution that moved as quickly as our customers do and maintained a high level of data accuracy and security.AT&T answered our call for flexibility in machine-to-machine services."
The PiKo device will be supported by AT&T's Enterprise On-Demand (AT&T EOD) platform, which will allow nSpire to control and manage their wireless device inventory. The platform will enable nSpire to wirelessly monitor and control specific features of the device, thereby mitigating problems stemming from patient misuse.
This isn't AT&T's first time at the mHealth rodeo. Recall, last month the number two US wireless provider announced two key strategic mHealth partnerships. The first was with medical imaging solutions provider Calgary Scientific to add that company's ResolutionMD product to AT&T's Medical Imaging and Information Management offering, and the second was with Accenture. As part of the latter deal, AT&T will provide the network and cloud hosting capability for the Accenture Medical Imaging Solution, which affords physicians and radiologists the ability to view, share and store x-ray, CT and MRI images via the cloud.
Earlier this month, analyst firm Frost & Sullivan bestowed upon AT&T a 2011 Competitive Strategy Leadership Award for mHealth. Frost recognized AT&T for its strategic partnerships to innovate new solutions; solutions addressing "Healthcare at home" challenges; and for its work toward managing common conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
Randall Porter, assistant vice president, AT&T ForHealth, told Pipeline, "We define mHealth very broadly, utilizing mobile technologies, devices, and machine-to-machine connectivity or applications, to improve on or develop new healthcare solutions that can drive down medical costs and help improve patient outcomes."
mHealth is just one tine in AT&T's four-pronged ForHealth approach, which aims to deliver wireless and network service for healthcare; the other three being telehealth, cloud-based healthcare and Healthcare Information Exchange (HIC). Porter added, "People are increasingly thinking about their own health and wellness. mHealth presents exciting potential for increasing patient engagement and improving outcomes, while enabling greater provider productivity and reducing costs. Healthcare is an industry well-suited to take advantage of mobile technologies as they can allow caregivers to have immediate, real-time information about a patient's condition and response to treatment."
