In summary, we stand on the precipice of a new age of medical information management where, if the dreams of mobile vendors come true, patients will be at the center of a stream of health care, disease management, and wellness information from which they, along with their doctor, with the help of real-time data, can fully participate in their health care and influence their health outcomes.
Dr. Skolnik is associate director of the family medicine residency program at Abington (Pa.) Memorial Hospital and professor of family and community medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia. He is also editor-in-chief of Redi-Reference Inc., a software company that creates mobile apps. Dr. Notte is a family physician and clinical informaticist for Abington Memorial Hospital. He is also a partner in EHR Practice Consultants, a firm that aids physicians in adopting electronic health records. An avid programmer, he has published software for handheld devices in partnership with national organizations, and he is always looking for new ways to bring evidence-based medicine to the point of care.