The Journal of mHealth Vol 1 Issue 6 (Dec 2014) | Page 16

Industry News
Continued from page 13

agement. It is about creating a shift from
reactive care to cost-effective active care.
Michel Nadeau, P.Eng, President, CEO
and Founder of Tactio Health Group,
added “I wanted to work in partnership with a global leader and expand our
offering into new territories. Tunstall
has decades of expertise in telehealth in
global care markets and our integrated
product and service offering enables us to
address new preventive healthcare market
segments, by meeting the needs of the
empowered patient and ultimately changing lives for millions of people. This element of democratising healthcare worldwide is at the very foundation of Tactio.”
Tactio Health Group is a world leader
in mobile health systems with millions
using its mobile health applications on
iOS and Android, enjoying the personal
and family benefits of being supported
to live a more active, healthier lifestyle.
The exclusive partnership will cover 11
of Tunstall ’s main markets with the UK
being first to launch. A number of Tunstall’s customers have already expressed

keen interest in using a professional app
based service and the first customer pro-

grammes will be available from December 2014, with more planned for 2015. n

Orange and USAID Join Forces to
Boost mHealth Innovations across
Africa
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and global telecommunications operator Orange used the
December Global mHealth Forum  in
Washington, DC to announce a new alliance aimed at developing innovations in
mobile health. These mHealth innovations will help treat and care for individuals in developing countries across Africa.
“Together with USAID, we are creating innovative mHealth platforms that
open up the opportunities for remote
patient monitoring or healthcare workers
to make better-informed decisions and
facilitate quality care for all citizens.”
“With the increasing use and decreasing
cost of mobile devices, leveraging

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December 2014

mobile phone technology to accelerate
access to health information and services
is a game changer,” said Dr. Ariel PablosMéndez, USAID’s Assistant Administrator for Global Health. “USAID’s partnerships with private companies, such as
Orange, enable us to have a larger impact
in a cost-effective manner.”
The first phase of these health systemstrengthening programs will leverage the
expertise, technology and local resources
of both organisations to improve quality
of care and ensure that health services
are readily accessible to the public at
large. Niger and other countries are currently under exploration.
Future services will use integrated

mHealth platforms and Orange mobile
networks to communicate alerts and
share resources around family planning
and maternal health. Healthcare workers
will be able to use the technology to share
medical expertise, collaborate with specialists regardless of location, and improve
patient care. In addition, the public will
be able to access health information via
the mHealth platforms. Orange’s global
footprint, with mobile and fixed networks
in 20 countries in Africa and the Middle
East, will provide seamless and reliable
access to these services.
A maternal mHealth solution will provide medical practitioners access to the
latest tools and medical information
allowing them to monitor a mother’s