Qualcomm® Wireless Reach™ and The George Institute for Global Health have announced their collaboration on the creation of the China Center for mHealth Innovation (CCmHI) to support the Central Government’s initiatives to improve community healthcare in China. CCmHI will help improve community healthcare in China by developing mHealth solutions, implementing clinical evaluations and contributing to strategies for the implementation and scale-up of effective and affordable mHealth tools.
Overview
Initially, CCmHI will conduct a landscape analysis of digital health policies, laws, standards, programs and research activities in China, all of which will inform CCmHI’s pilot and flagship research efforts. CCmHI aims to develop and field test at least one mHealth program for chronic disease management in its first year, which will lead to larger scale mHealth programs in future years.
China’s Twelfth Five Year Plan (2011-2015) prioritizes the development of affordable, quality, and accessible healthcare for the entire population. CCmHI will contribute to this goal through the development of innovative mobile technology solutions designed to improve community healthcare services. CCmHI aims to support the central government’s deepened commitment to healthcare reform in the Third Plenum late last year, which includes improving technological advancement and development of the healthcare field and strengthening healthcare professionals’ capacity.
CCmHI Goals/Priorities
CCmHI’s main priorities are to:
- Build Chinese capacity in digital healthcare development and evaluation, including providing opportunities for student internships and fellowships.
- Develop and evaluate mHealth platforms designed to provide community healthcare workers with evidence-based, personalized guidance about the care of individual patients.
- Target the leading causes of premature death and disability in China.
- Provide solutions that are effective in both urban and rural settings.
- Assist with the integration of mHealth strategies into national and provincial policies and guidelines.
- Support the development and expanded use of mHealth technologies globally.
Potential of mHealth in China
With the rapid expansion of mobile internet connectivity across China, the potential exists to affordably create and link sophisticated digital health systems for healthcare workers, EHRs, point-of-care diagnostics and systems that will enable regional health authorities to monitor and manage the quality and outcomes of community healthcare. Combined with consumer applications that provide tools for self-care using secure data transfer to a cloud-based server, these new digital health systems can enable solutions to healthcare delivery obstacles.
