WebMD expands Patient Instructions feature, previews personalized Mobile App

NEW YORK, USA: WebMD Health Corp., the leading source of health information, today announced at the mHealth Summit that it is expanding the beta program for its Patient Instructions feature, which enables physicians who use Medscape Mobile to securely send education and instructions on thousands of conditions, procedures and drugs to their patients who use the WebMD app for iPhone, or access WebMD on a PC or other mobile device.

The company also previewed a forthcoming version of its WebMD app that leverages the 2net Platform from Qualcomm Life, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, to enable health-conscious consumers to access and manage wireless health data from a wide array of fitness, wellness and medical devices directly from the app.

"WebMD is partnering with innovative companies like Qualcomm and developing new products and services like Patient Instructions to make health information more actionable and accelerate consumer-provider connectivity," said David Schlanger, CEO at WebMD.

"As consumers and providers assume more financial risk for the provision of care, WebMD believes that facilitating this kind of engagement is essential to producing quality outcomes and reducing the cost of care," added Schlanger.

Qualcomm Life and WebMD first announced plans to enable consumers to upload biometric data to WebMD in an effort to proactively manage health and fitness, as well as chronic health conditions such as obesity and diabetes, at the HIMMS conference in March 2013.

WebMD will introduce its new app and set of services that deliver personalized content and actionable insights, as well as a new online storefront where consumers will be able to purchase a variety of biometric devices from the industry's leading providers, in the first quarter of 2014.

"WebMD is uniquely positioned to facilitate consumer-provider connectivity and accelerate the roll-out of quantified health solutions to the masses," said Bill Pence, EVP, CTO and COO, WebMD.

"Our Patient Instructions functionality will enable consumers and their providers to jointly manage their care, and our partnership with Qualcomm Life will provide consumers with a more personalized WebMD experience that makes biometric data more actionable," added Pence.