Restructuring healthcare delivery into an mHealth ecosystem

November 05, 2012 | Rick Krohn, MA, MAS – President of HealthSense

The Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes for Health report that more than 50 percent of the factors related to personal health can be traced to lifestyle choices, while only 10 percent are related to the medical care system. This finding illustrates a stark truth: The U.S. healthcare system in its current incarnation, a system of facility-based, episodic care, is insufficient to the task of improving population health. It’s a growing crisis; an aging population, clinical staff shortages, cost inflation and uneven quality are heading us toward a potential healthcare tsunami.

[See also: mHealth has ‘implied, but vital’ function in Stage 2 final rule]

What is needed is a delivery system with a greater array of provider-patient touch points, with better care coordination and clinical collaboration, with diagnostic tools for self care, with aligned incentives and with the capability of achieving behavioral change across the spectrum of healthcare stakeholders. What is needed is a patient-centric healthcare ecosystem.

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