Mobile Groove

Indoor navigation — and services that map and understand our mobility patterns - lay the ground work for a slew of exciting new location services that combine advertising, marketing, couponing and analytics to deliver people offers they truly can’t refuse. What is the role of mobile operators? Where are the growth opportunities? These are just a few of the questions I explore with Phyllis Reuther, manager of the advanced analytics lab run by the major U.S. mobile operator Sprint.

Always wary of those who hype the benefits of mobile, I was struck by the keynotes I heard at the CTIA Wireless Show and the assertions that mobile is dramatically improving healthcare and key to keeping the U.S. competitive in global business.

The keynote delivered by Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, was direct. In his view, the U.S. faces fierce battles for mobile innovation leadership.

In 2011 MSearchGroove profiles the innovators in mobile health (mHealth) to give you the inside track on how (and where) mobile is connecting stakeholders to make a difference. This week the spotlight is on Kurt Mueller, Chief Digital and Science Officer at ROSKA Healthcare Advertising, a full-service healthcare advertising agency using digital solutions to power direct-to-physician and direct-to-patient/consumer marketing.

Mobile is at the core of an increasing number of healthcare services and solutions. This trend is hardly surprising considering how online technology has already impacted the relationship between the pharma industry and physicians, and – more importantly – the interaction between healthcare professionals and their patients.

Editor’s note: We kick off regular and in-depth coverage of how mobile is transforming health care and treatment in developed and developing markets with Dr. Phillip Olla, a visionary and entrepreneur creating an ecosystem that leverages mobile devices and networks to improve diagnosis and treatment.

The mobile revolution has been hailed as the enabling force for emerging markets and developing countries to become more active participants in the global economy. Given the right tools and environment, people can harness mobile technology to leapfrog more developed countries, creating services that address local problems and issues, and ultimately close the digital divide.