Next Steps for mHealth in 2016

Where is mHealth headed in 2016 and beyond? This question couldn’t be more relevant coming out of last week’s HIMSS conference in Las Vegas, which brought together 41,000 healthcare IT professionals, clinicians, executives and vendors. In light of the big event, here are three takes on the next steps for mHealth going forward.

1. Big Data and interoperability. Leading up to the show, HealthITNews polled readers about the topics they thought would be most buzz-worthy. Interoperability and big data came in at the top, followed by privacy and security each in close second. Chronic care management and meaningful use were pretty far behind, with revenue cycle coming in last. If you attended the conference you can respond to the exit poll and eventually see how those predictions played out.
2. Quantifying Value. HealthcareDIVE lists five topics to watch for at HIMSS16, but quantifying value is at the top of the list. HIMSS recently launched Value Score, the first global quality measure for determining the value of health IT. Using Value Score, healthcare organizations can determine their IT strengths and weaknesses and improve efforts to achieve true electronic information exchange. Also on HealthcareDIVE’s list are analytics, precision medicine, interoperability, and innovation.
3. Navigation. As part of their coverage for HIMSS16, MobiHealthNews interviewed some Boston-area digital health leaders in a video discussing important topics for the upcoming conference. Jason Sibley of Flare Capital Partners says the unmet needs in healthcare might not be about diagnosis or treatment. Instead, there is a lot of work to be done helping patients navigate the healthcare system - from understanding how to access their benefits to knowing where they’re at with their deductible. Other interviewees talked about shifting focus towards clinical mHealth solutions a growing awareness about the value of aggregated health data.

As these predictions suggest, HIMSS16 didn’t involve any blockbuster deals or earth-shattering announcements. The conference was full of sessions featuring health systems discussing what they’re already doing, instead of what they plan to do soon. As Eric Wicklund reports for mHealth Intelligence, the industry is coming to grips with its future and realizing that progress doesn’t have to be measured in grand pronouncements. Instead, the focus at HIMSS16 was on integration and building on existing platforms and programs. Maybe this more mature mHealth is what’s up next in 2016.