We’ve all been hearing stories recently about the rise of smartphones and mobile devices in health care, but often these stories can seem far from our day-to-day realities. But, according to a recent article in the Vancouver Sun, there are a number of BC-based initiatives working to make mobile health care more relevant to our lives.
The article profiles video game makers, including Ayogo Games and Digido Interactive, that are partnering with non-profit groups and health professionals to create mobile phone-based games that encourage healthy behaviour.
It also profiles several UBC-based initiatives that are helping make health care more accessible, and more mobile. These initiatives include a pulse oximeter that runs on mobile phones, being developed by Dr. Mark Ansermino, Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, as well as mobile apps being developed by QxMD, a medical startup currently directed by Dr. Daniel Schwartz, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine.
The article finishes with a short profile of the eHealth Strategy Office’s eHealth Summer Camp starting its second year this July, and a closing quote by our director, Kendall Ho, about the importance of working to integrate technology into health care:
“I think there are a lot of exciting digital technologies that come to the foreground,” said Dr. Kendall Ho, a practising emergency medicine specialist and founding director of the eHealth Strategy Office. “The question, in eHealth and for the ministry of health to look at is how can we use the technology as best we can to address the current health gaps we have.
“I think that is the first priority.”