Much of the talk at this year's HIMSS Conference and Exhibition seems to indicate we've moved to the next stage of the mHealth lifecycle – to wit, healthcare doesn't need new inventions any more, but it does need proof that mHealth is working and in use.
The Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance is ready to join that discussion.
The San Diego-based organization has adopted the theme of "Moving Healthcare from Innovation to Adoption" for its eighth annual Wireless Health Convergence Summit, scheduled for May 28-30 at the Omni Hotel in San Diego. Organizers have also announced the first four guest speakers for the event.
They are:
- Bakul Patel, policy advisor for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Devices and Radiological Health. Patel, who focuses on the CDRH's policy on medical software and systems, will update attendees on FDA initiatives that affect mobile health, including the heavily anticipated FDA guidance on mobile medical applications that may be release prior to the summit. He might also discuss FDA efforts to address clinical decision support software.
- David Sayen, the San Francisco-based regional administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and a speaker at last year's summit. Sayen, whose office oversees more than 14 million Medicare, Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program participants, will discuss how federal healthcare reform efforts will affect the connected health market, including accountable care organizations and health insurance exchanges.
- Dean Kamen, founder of the DEKA Research & Development Corporation and holder of more than 440 patents, many for medical devices. He's also a member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame and a recipient of the National Medical of Technology for his work in the healthcare field.
- Ralph Simon, head of the London-based Mobilium International consultancy, which offers advice in a wide variety of fields, from telecommunications to media groups to the entertainment industry. He's expected to talk about opportunities for early-stage companies in the developing world, especially Africa.
Last year's summit drew close to 300 attendees and featured a wide variety of sessions and presentations, including a panel discussion that asked "What Can Healthcare Learn from Hollywood?" The conference concluded with the launch of the Nokia Sensing X Prize challenge and discussion of the Qualcomm Tricorder X Prize challenge, both of which are still under way.
The deadline for early registration for this year's summit is this Friday, March 15. For more information, visit www.wirelesslifesciences.org or contact Molly Cogan at mcogan@wirelesslifesciences.org.
