Included in this roundup of the mobile health space are GSK's asthma app development, Italian remote patient monitoring project, an online mobile health app market place, a new Blackberry app from Galderma UK and the winning entry in Eyeforpharma's mobile health competition.

An Italian hospital is offering chronic disease patients access to a mobile phone-powered remote monitoring system. The Moinette Hospital in Turin will make Telecom Italia's Nuvola It Home Doctor system available first to patients in its geriatric and home hospital units, before rolling it out in cardiology, pneumology, neurology, haematology and some areas of internal medicine. The system works by sending patient details automatically from their phone to the online monitoring platform, which doctors can then access. Telecom Italia said it use of the system would cut healthcare costs “significantly”.

GlaxoSmithKline's recently-launched MyAsthma app nearly had a very different social media look, according to the company's international marketing manager for Seretide Francisco Abad Marin. He told SMI's Social Media in the Pharmaceutical Industry conference last week that the campaign was initially conceived as a Facebook-based 'gamification' project, until patient feedback highlighted its lack of practical benefits and engagement. So, scrapping five months of work and changing agencies, GSK worked on the multi-platform app, which in its first two weeks has attracted more than 1,000 registered users and even – unusually for pharma apps – a handful of positive reviews. (See this mobile health roundup post for more details on the MyAsthma app.)

An online mobile health applications marketplace is aiming to sort the wheat from the chaff with a new certification programme. Happtique, a for-profit subsidiary of the Greater New York Hospital Association, says it will vet mobile applications developed for doctors, nurses and patients, knocking back those that are outdated or poorly built. Happtique president Corey Ackerman said: “With more than 20,000 healthcare apps in the marketplace – and more coming out every day – healthcare organisations and professionals are expressing the need for a bona fide mhealth app certification programme.” The programme, which will be funded by charges paid by app developers, also plans to provide constructive feedback on submitted apps.

Galderma UK has produced a Blackberry app to help patients manage their day-to-day skin care and acne treatment. The free Spotcheck acne diary app, created by comms agency Life, allows patients to take pictures of their acne-affected areas each day and includes reminder functions to renew prescriptions, attend appointments and maintain therapy. Galderma markets the once-daily acne gel Epiduo (adapalene/benzoyl peroxide), which it is also supporting with the epiduo.co.uk patient website.

Eyeforpharma's Mobile Health competition to conceptualise an app for teenage cancer patients has been won by one that allows young people with cancer to develop a superhero alter ego. Superhero Me! was produced by Marianne Lynch and Dimuthu Jayawardana from Windsor, UK-based Life and would provide patients with reliable scientific information and access to  games and other activities. Runners up in the competition included Publicis Life Brands Resolute, whose Positive Vibes support network app received a bronze award

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