Verizon Enterprise Solutions, Motorola (News - Alert) Mobility Inc. and BoxTone have announced they have joined together to develop a mobile health (mHealth) solution for the healthcare industry, according to a press release.

The new joint venture will provide “health care practitioners with secure mobile devices and apps,” so that patient care can be improved because data, shared in near-real time, will help clinicians make faster decisions, and could help in reducing costs, according to the press release.

The agreement brings together BoxTone's automated Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) software platform on Motorola’s DROID RAZR and DROID RAZR MAXX smartphones and DROID XYBOARD 10.1 and 8.2 tablets, all of which use the Verizon Wireless (News - Alert) 4G LTE network, the press release reports. Android-based mobile devices and apps are designed to help the healthcare industry meet the strict compliance requirements, including privacy measures, imposed by the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

The new venture will address the vital issues of mobile security and privacy in healthcare “by incorporating a new layer of data protection with automated mobile device and application management,” according to the press release. Motorola Mobility and BoxTone are both Verizon Business (News - Alert) Solutions Alliance partners.

"This solution underscores the important role mobility is playing in transforming health care," said Dr. Peter Tippett (News - Alert), vice president and chief medical officer, Verizon Connected Healthcare Solutions, the company's health IT practice group that is part of Verizon Enterprise Solutions, in the press release. "Mobile devices and health care apps represent one of the biggest IT opportunities of the decade to improve and transform care delivery. Working with Motorola Mobility and BoxTone, we have brought together complementary capabilities to create an easy-to-deploy and manage mobility solution for our health care customers."

Motorola Mobility smartphones incorporate “coatings of water-repellent nanoparticles. . .displays using Corning® Gorilla® Glass for scratch-resistance, and . . . materials for strength such as KEVLAR® fiber for DROID RAZR and DROID RAZR MAXX,” ideal for healthcare environments, according to the press release.

The smartphones are small enough for doctors to slip them into a lab coat pocket, and along with tablets “feature pre-loaded Citrix® software for access to electronic medical records, 3LM software for embedded device security and the BoxTone EMM software for automated lifecycle management,” according to the press release.

Smartphones have revolutionized healthcare, according to a story at phonearena.com. With devices that can track your blood pressure and send the results remotely to your doctor, or let you discuss scans with your doctor while viewing them on your phone, to gadgets that keep track of your exercise and even sleep, they are transforming medicine.

The combination of smartphones and apps has created a market for mHealth apps that will top $400 million and climb to 142 million downloads globally by 2016.

Deborah DiSesa Hirsch is an award-winning health and technology writer who has worked for newspapers, magazines and IBM (News - Alert) in her 20-year career. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.