How AliveCor, Diasend Are Marrying Mobile Health with EHRsHow AliveCor, Diasend Are Marrying Mobile Health with EHRs

Practice Fusion--the largest free, cloud-based Electronic Health Record (EHR) community in the United States--today announced partnerships with AliveCor, Inc., maker of the smartphone-enabled Heart Monitor, and diabetes management software and app maker Diasend AB.

This alliance will enable both heart and diabetes patients to upload data directly from their devices to their EHRs. This uploaded data will be available to physicians and healthcare providers within seconds.

The AliveCor Heart Monitor, which has been FDA approved as a Class II device for the iPhone since December, 2012, and for Android devices since October 2013, earlier this month was approved for over-the-counter (OTC) sales. The device provides cardiac assessments using an ECG recorder that attaches to the back of most Android and iOS mobile devices. It allows patients and providers to monitor heart health anytime, anywhere, and is the only FDA cleared mobile ECG recorder that supports both iPhone and Android smartphones.

Diasend's System receives blood glucose and insulin reports from glucose meters and insulin pumps and sends them directly to the patient's EHR. The company says their system is currently compatible with more than 70 insulin pumps, glucose meters, and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). Although Diasend's mobile apps are not yet cleared for use in the United States, their desktop system is, and is currently in use in more than 15 countries.

"The data explosion from the emergence of mobile medical devices has been impressive. However, to avoid overwhelming doctors and patients alike and to realize the potential of this surge in information, this data must be organized," said Matt Douglass, co-founder and vice president of platform, Practice Fusion. "Digital doctors equipped with device data in their EHR represent the next frontier of care, and have the unique ability to make more informed decisions with their patients by utilizing technology that finally marries data about a patient's everyday health with data collected in the exam room."

"Monitoring patient heart health no longer needs to be limited to hospitals and clinics with access to expensive equipment," says Euan Thomson, president and CEO, AliveCor. "Our integration with Practice Fusion empowers small, independent providers to stay aware of cardiac warning signs before they turn into something worse, directly within their EHR workflow."

AliveCor says it is creating a dedicated app for primary care physicians using the Practice Fusion EHR. This will allow them to collect patient ECGs and request an analysis or "over-read" from licensed technicians or board-certified cardiologists. This app will also keep track of patients' history over time. AliveCor says the subscription-based program will cost less than the price of a single device; these list for $199 on its website.

Stephen Levy is a contributor to Qmed and MPMN.