Steve Jobs and e-health - The future of medicine

PRLog (Press Release) - Nov. 2, 2011 - The untimely death of Steve Jobs has led to a number of testimonials from the medical community. The innovator, whose products have transformed the way doctors, nurses and other actors in healthcare provide patient care, died on October 5, 2011.

Mobile devices created by Steve Jobs, including the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch - and health applications developed specifically for these devices - have allowed doctors, nurses and patients to understand, access and share clinical data in a much easier manner than before. Similarly, medical information and data found on these devices have improved the way in which doctors perform their clinical duties on a daily basis and have improved the general level of healthcare. An example is iHealth, the first intelligent blood pressure monitor compatible with iPhone, iPod or iPad. iHealth is a major step forward for telemedicine because it allows patients to measure and transfer their blood pressure (BP) data and because it allows for better management of home health care. With iHealth, the user can send results directly to his doctor and can avoid many of the complications associated with medical examinations.

Traditionally, the measurement of blood pressure (BP) is performed by the doctor or at a hospital. These measurements often show significant variations directly related to the patient's response, a phenomenon known as "white coat hypertension." Home monitoring of BP has many advantages that include more stable and accurate results as well as better monitoring between two consultations. That is why all international recommendations for blood pressure management recommend self-measurement of blood pressure at home.

iHealth is a blood pressure dock for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad that allows users to monitor their BP in the comfort of their own homes and to share the results with their doctor using a simple and intuitive interface, facilitating long-term and long-distance management.

The free iHealth App allows users to view graphs of their blood pressure and to monitor its evolution over time.

Telemedicine: making information travel rather than the patient

The word telemedicine is derived from the Greek terms "Tele" (distance) and Latin "Mederi" (cure). Distance, inaccessibility to transport and lack of time for the physician are constraints that are much more expensive to social security systems than regular medical monitoring. Telemedicine empowers the patient to better manage their disease, and allows the physician to better manage the patient while seeing him paradoxically less often. Telemedicine builds a "communications bridge" between patient and doctor.

iHealth, a telemedicine solution tailor-made for today's healthcare systems

About 70% of the health budget is spent on the treatment of chronic diseases. Today, the challenge of telemedicine is to reduce these costs by seeking solutions that limit the number of visits, that transfer expensive hospital care to cheaper home alternatives and that reduce the number of hospitalizations due to complications. The iHealth BP dock allows the patient to take care of their blood pressure at home, to send more consistent results to their doctor for better treatment and to recognize and treat early signs of complications.

The iHealth blood pressure dock is also grounded in a simple reality: the elderly are not always accustomed to technology. For this reason, the iHealth station was designed to be completely intuitive to use with a mobile phone (iPhone), which is now a technology platform that is more and more accepted by older people because of its ease of use.

Since its launch in January 2011, iHealth has accumulated honors, receiving the award for Best New Apple Application in Las Vegas in January as well as the prestigious Red Dot Industrial Design Award. In May, iHealth was elected Best App for Medical Patients and in April 2011, iHealth won four top awards at the Concours Lépine in Paris and was voted Best Medical Product of the Year 2011 in Germany.

For Uwe DIEGEL,  international expert in blood pressure monitoring and the man behind iHealth, iHealth is a natural evolution in the world of blood pressure. "For the last 15 years, I have developed new solutions for medical diagnostics and I think we need to listen better to the signals of the body and to translate them in an understandable way. By identifying how daily activities affect vital signs such as blood pressure and heart rate, people become more proactive about their personal health. With iHealth, patients can really understand their blood pressure and what is more, become interested in managing it better. We are continuing to develop new products in this direction, and before long a glucose meter and a scale, all connected to the iPod, iPhone and iPad , will be added to the iHealth range. "

Availability and price: iHealth is distributed in pharmacies by Magnien (01 34 30 28 65) and is available for € 99.99 on http://www.ihealth99.fr

The iHealth App is available for free download on the App Store or on iTunes.

About iHealth: iHealth manufactures consumer-friendly, digital personal healthcare products. The company focuses on delivering easy-to-use products that make it simple to regularly test, track, graph, and share health information.

CONTACTS

Name: Uwe DIEGEL
Direct line: +33 (0)1 42 66 15 59
Mail: udiegel@ihealth99.fr
http://www.ihealth99.fr

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About iHealth: iHealth manufactures consumer-friendly, digital personal healthcare products. The company focuses on delivering easy-to-use products that make it simple to regularly test, track, graph, and share health information.

Photo:
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