Innovation: It's in Our DNA.

Colleen M. Kigin, PT, DPT, MS, MPA, FAPTA, the 52nd Mary McMillan Lecturer, is a consultant focused on innovation. She is a visiting clinical professor at the University of Colorado physical therapy program, University of Colorado School of Medicine, and an adjunct associate professor at the MGH Institute of Health Professions (MGH IHP). From 1998-2014, she held the positions of chief of staff and program manager for the Center of Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology, a 12-institution consortium based in Boston, Massachusetts, developing innovative solutions to health care problems. She subsequently has served as a consultant to such efforts as the University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, United Kingdom, to develop an innovation culture. In 1994, she joined the newly formed Partners HealthCare System in Boston, coordinating the system's cost reduction efforts through 1998. Kigin previously served as director of physical therapy services at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) (1977-1984) and as assistant professor at MGH IHP (1980-1994). While at MGH, she was responsible for the merger of 2 separate physical therapy departments, the establishment of the first nonphysician specialist position, and practice without referral for the physical therapy services. Kigin has held numerous positions within the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), serving on the Board of Directors from 1988-1997, including as vice president; co-chair of The Physical Therapy Summit in 2007; and co-chair of FiRST, the Frontiers in Rehabilitation, Science and Technology Council. She also served as prior chair of the APTA Committee on Clinical Residencies and served on the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. Kigin earned a bachelor of science degree in physical therapy at the University of Colorado, a master of science degree at Boston University, a master's degree in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and a doctor in physical therapy degree from the MGH IHP.

Can mHealth Technology Help Mitigate the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Goal: The aim of the study herein reported was to review mobile health (mHealth) technologies and explore their use to monitor and mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A Task Force was assembled by recruiting individuals with expertise in electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes (ePRO), wearable sensors, and digital contact tracing technologies. Its members collected and discussed available information and summarized it in a series of reports. Results: The Task Force identified technologies that could be deployed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and would likely be suitable for future pandemics. Criteria for their evaluation were agreed upon and applied to these systems. Conclusions: mHealth technologies are viable options to monitor COVID-19 patients and be used to predict symptom escalation for earlier intervention. These technologies could also be utilized to monitor individuals who are presumed non-infected and enable prediction of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, thus facilitating the prioritization of diagnostic testing.