The mHealth Alliance is building on the monumental success of last year’s mHealth Summit, which saw more than 2,600 attendees from nearly 50 countries. This year, the mHealth Alliance joins HIMSS and NIH as organizing partners for the FNIH-presented mHealth Summit. The Summitwill bring together leaders in government, the private sector, industry, academia, providers, and not-for-profit organizations from across the mHealth ecosystem and around the world.  It will take place December 5^th-7^th at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center located just outside Washington, DC at the National Harbor.

As everyone gears up for the 2011 mHealth Summit, I have received a lot of questions.  Some have been logistical, while others have been about the content of the Summit.  I thought it might be helpful for those thinking about attending or planning to attend if I post questions as I get them along with answers.  Here are a few I have gotten so far:

Q: What is the best airport to fly into and how do I get from the airport to the Gaylord?

A: There are three major airports that serve the Washington, DC metropolitan area, including Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI), and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).  Super Shuttles can be taken from all of these locations, and the Gaylord offers hourly shuttle service from Reagan National Airport (DCA).  Please visit Shuttle & Metro page of the mHealth Summit site for more information.

Q: Unfortunately, I missed the early registration period.  Is there a discount code available?

A: Yes! The mHealth Alliance has a discount codefor the mHealth Summit.  If you enter the code mHA11 during the registration process, you will receive $50 off a Full Access Pass.  The Full Access Pass will get you into all of the Super Sessions, the Concurrent Sessions, the Exhibit Floor, the Monday Evening Reception, and the Keynote Luncheon on Tuesday.  For more information about the different levels of passes available, please visit the registration page.

Q: How much of a focus will there be on maternal health projects?

A:  The Maternal-newborn mHealth Initiative (MMI) is an important initiative of the mHealth Alliance.  By focusing on maternal-newborn health as a lens to the application of ICTs to health systems, the mHealth Alliance is working toward health systems transformation to improve health outcomes for all populations.  As such, maternal health is a very important topic for us, and it can be found throughout the summit program.  A few panels and events that may have maternal content include, but are not limited to: mHealth Business Models in Maternal Health, The Intersection of Mobile Health and Public Health – Towards Greater Understanding and Collaboration,  Deployment Case Studies for the mHealth Field Worker, and several sessions of the mFinance track.  There will also be a Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA): An Exchange with Partners side event, which will feature active discussions with its in-country and global partners.  Visit the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA) site to learn more about their activities around the world.

Q: How much of a focus will there be on mHealth in the developing world?

A:  Making sure that the experiences of people in the developing world are represented at the mHealth Summit is a priority of the mHealth Alliance.  Panels and events that focus on this include, but are not limited to: Global Policy and Regulatory Perspectives of mHealth, Global Regulatory Frameworks: Understanding Regulatory Concerns Across Different Markets,  Government Role in Scaling mHealth: Collaborations to Launch National mHealth Strategies, Successful mHealth Business Models in Emerging Markets, A New Model for National-level mHealth Planning, and the above mentioned MAMA event.  The mHealth Alliance will also host a side event featuring mHealth national stakeholders from around the globe.  At the National Stakeholders: Learning from the Global South event, panelists will share the successes and challenges they have faced in bringing a diverse group of stakeholders together to tackle issues like policy and regulation, interoperability, data security, and intersections with other mServices.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to comment below, and I will try to answer you as soon as possible. 

Thank you so much for your interest in the mHealth Summit.  If you would like to register, please click here.  We hope to see you there!