Innovation is always on the forefront of minds at Duke University and Duke Health System. We all know where health care has been, and where it is now—but what about where it will be in about five or even ten years from now? The science behind health care and how health care professionals can effectively treat patients is evolving, and innovators at Duke want to make sure that they stay on top of the ever-changing times.

A collaboration of minds from the Duke Provost office, the Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Duke Health Technology Solutions, the Duke University School of Medicine and the Duke University School of Nursing (DUSON) have come together to create the Mobile App Gateway.

The Mobile App Gateway is the one-stop shop for digital help, it’s the entry point for support of digital health and mobile app research and development throughout Duke Health and Duke University. If you’re a clinical practitioner, researcher, faculty, staff or student you have easy access to a team to help guide you in the creation of mobile apps. The Mobile App Gateway guides people with innovative ideas to the development and execution of mobile apps and wearables and integrating data from these technologies into electronic health records.  

The Mobile App Gateway team is comprised of individuals with backgrounds in clinical care, science, business, technology development and operations to better understand how an app can be integrated into the health system. The vice provost of research Duke University, Larry Carin, PhD, approached Ryan Shaw, PhD, RN to be the faculty advisor for the Mobile App Gateway.

“He specifically asked for someone from the School of Nursing to take a leadership role,” said Shaw “They’re trying to make (The Mobile App Gateway) interdisciplinary and the thought is that nursing will be very much affected by digital health.”

Shaw is no stranger to innovation. He has been creating innovative products since 2008 when he became a PhD student at DUSON, so he knows the process to go through to have an idea created from start to finish.

The Mobile App Gateway team is here to help, “We provide guidance and a framework, it all depends on what an individual needs” said Shaw. “We’ll review things, especially from a regulatory and security standpoint, and we’ll be able to point people in the right direction.”

App making is currently an expensive, drawn-out process. On average, an app can cost upwards of $130,000. Through the Mobile App Gateway, the cost of creating an app has been significantly reduced. If you develop your app through the Mobile App Gateway, there’s a simplified development process, making it possible to bring apps to market quickly.

Nurses make up a huge population in health care, and can and will be pioneers in the creation and use of mobile health technology. “The National Institute for Nursing Research (NINR) is one of the pioneers in supporting the use of mobile health technology,” said Shaw. “There are several NINR grants available, and they’re tailored toward nursing and interdisciplinary science. I’m hoping the Duke Mobile App Gateway can be an example for the rest of the country where nurses in nursing schools and health systems can take the lead in this—not only for our profession but for health care in general.”

Learn more about the Mobile App Gateway through their website: https://www.ctsi.duke.edu/mobile-app-gateway.