It’s an exciting time to be in the digital health industry. Apple’s HealthKit announcement at WWDC is just the tip of the iceberg. Over the past couple years I’ve seen incredible developments from mHealth companies at MoDev events, from AngelMD startups, and within HIMSS. Apple is wisely tapping into a thriving marketplace of innovation.
What makes this all possible is something most of us take for granted. For each mobile medical device – every Withings scale, Nike fuel band, or MapMyRun app – there is a glue that binds it all together. The constant source of connectivity: our IP-based networks.
Renewed discussions about internet regulation- in the form of both net neutrality and what is known as Title II reclassification – bring the significance of network infrastructure and dependability to the fore. You can imagine how this particularly matters for mobile health services. The moment our networks can no longer handle data from a heart monitor is when we turn the lights out on this promising new field. That would be a tragic outcome because we are beginning to see dramatically improved healthcare outcomes through mobile devices and apps.
The internet is the lifeblood of the mobile economy. It is also becoming the critical link between personal healthcare maintenance and provider-based care. When mobile health platforms bring us closer to medical professionals, our long-term prospects improve.
We increasingly want our networks to be better, faster, and ubiquitous. People always want more than what they already have. (I know I do.) So when considering whether to make structural changes to our networks, we must ensure that any rules of the road set by our regulators allow for continued innovation and expansion. And that’s why we have concerns about the current discussion around reclassifying the internet as a communications service.
Before making decisions we can’t take back, let’s be certain that any outcome from the net regulation debate features an environment that continues to foster life-changing advances in mobile medical technology.
In just a few short years, the strides we have made in mobile health have been remarkable. Now is not the time to step back from technology that will make us live healthier lives.