Here's proof that mHealth is going mainstream: It has its own category in the Webby Awards.
Launched by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences in 1996, the Webbies are touted as "the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet." The IADAS is a broad organization of more than 1,000 technology experts and artists, including actor Kevin Spacey, Internet co-creator Vint Cerf, Arianna Huffington, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom.
This year's 18th annual Webby Awards includes the brand-new Health and Fitness Apps category. Five apps have been named finalists, while another 11 have been named honored nominees.
"There is a lot of promise for health and fitness apps, and I think we are really just at the beginning of what we will see and how important some of these experiences will become in our daily lives," said David-Michel Davies, the executive director of the Webby Awards, in a press release.
The five finalists are Glow, a reproductive health app launched in May 2013 by, among others, PayPal founder Max Levchin; Touchfit: Georges St. Pierre, a fitness app developed by Zolmo; the Walgreens mobile app, which enables users to, among other things, refill prescriptions, find nearby health clinics and chat with a pharmacist; Nike's Win the Hour app for the FuelBand SE, which charts and rewards activity challenges for every hour; and Charity Miles, which enables users to tie their athletic accomplishments to favored charities.
Honored nominees are as follows:
- WebMD's mobile app, which enables users to browse slide shows, read articles and find answers to health and wellness questions.
- My Wellness Journal, an app designed by California-based Project Tiki that allows consumers to store medical information for themselves and their family members in iOS devices.
- First Aid, an app designed by the American Red Cross that offers information on handling "the most common first aid emergencies," including severe weather, burns, choking and heat stroke.
- Allergycast, an app designed by Zyrtec that enables users to check the local pollen index and weather forecast and offers a symptom tracker to log and track health concerns.
- Diabetes HealthMate, from GlaxoSmithKline, which allows users to track blood sugar readings and measure them against diet, activity and moods.
- My Pregnancy Today, from BabyCenter, which allows expectant parents to access information on pregnancy and baby development issues.
- The CVS pharmacy mobile app.
- FitStar: Tony Gonzalez, a personal training app developed by FitStar Labs.
- AskMD, a symptom checker app designed by Sharecare.
- PINGMD, a medical messaging app from IDEO.
- The Veterans Mental Health Apps Suite, from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Winners will be announced on April 28. The awards ceremony, hosted by comedian Patton Oswalt, will be held May 19 in New York City.
