FORWARD - Mobile Tech May Improve Medicine

The Morning Download: Mobile Tech May Improve Medicine By Kim S. Nash

Good morning. Technology has not been a miraculous cure for efficiency and cost problems in the health care industry. Certainly, research and development in medical devices and treatments is the foundation of medical advancement. But success has been less definitive in applying enterprise IT services, including electronic medical records, to the operations in hospitals and doctors’ offices. Maybe mobile will make the difference.A startup named Forward launched Tuesday a mobile app that uses artificial intelligence to offer diagnoses and recommendations based on data it will collect about specific users, as Rolfe Winkler reports in The Wall Street Journal. It’s no $1.99 download: For $150 per month, a patient will get the AI service and unlimited access to his doctor in the office and through the app.This is different from the concierge medicine that celebrities and other super-rich buy for many tens of thousands annually, where they get discreet white-glove treatment and private limo service to and from medical visits. Forward has a “network of advocates” that can “go on-site when needed” and its doctors can reach out to hospitals in “cases where it’s been helpful,” says founder Adrian Aoun, a former Alphabet Inc. executive. Tech is truly front and center at the San Francisco company. Facilities will include technology such as body scanners, big-screen displays, and voice-recognition systems to free doctors from note-taking during visits. Engineers comprise half of Forward's 40 employees. The number of doctors? Four. http://tk.wsjemail.com/track?t=v&enid=ZWFzPTImbXNpZD0xJmF1aWQ9Jm1pZD02NjQ1NjI5Jm1zZ2lkPTk5MjAwMCZkaWQ9Nzg0NDA0JmVkaWQ9Nzg0NDA0JnNuPTMzOTQyMDkxJmVpZD1idGI3QGNvcm5lbGwuZWR1JmVlaWQ9YnRiN0Bjb3JuZWxsLmVkdSZ1aWQ9YnRiN0Bjb3JuZWxsLmVkdSZyaWQ9MTEzNTcmZXJpZD0xMTM1NyZmbD0mbXZpZD0mdGdpZD0mZXh0cmE9&&&6010263&eu=2900&&&http://online.wsj.com/vib