New Mobile App Gateway Promotes Innovation

Innovation is an integral part of Duke University and Duke University Health System. Knowing where health care has been, where it is now—but dreaming about where it will be in five, or even ten years from now is the work of a very special team of Duke faculty and staff.

Through a special partnership, from the Duke University 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), a team of innovators 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’s Health System and University. For clinical practitioners, researchers, faculty, staff or students with the next great idea, there is now easy access to a team to help guide the creation of mobile apps. The Mobile App Gateway works with innovators in the development and execution of mobile apps and wearables that integrate 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 app technology can be integrated into the health system. The Vice Provost of Research Duke University, Larry Carin, PhD, approached Dr. Ryan Shaw, associate professor at DUSON, to be the faculty advisor for the Mobile App Gateway.

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

Shaw is no stranger to innovation. He has been creating innovate products since 2008 when he was a PhD student at DUSON, so he understands the process to have an idea turned into a product 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. The development process for app technology through the Mobile App Gateway is simplified, making it possible to bring apps to market quickly.

As a large, influential population in health care, nurses 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 early organizations 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.

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