A new report by research and advisory agency PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) highlights the growth and benefits of mHealth — the practice of moving health technology onto mobile devices for easier and more integrated access.
Released this June and featuring the input of 2,500 Canadians, the report contends that consumers are willing to switch to new mobile features that allow them to renew prescriptions remotely and access lab test results through a secure smartphone format.
Interviewed consumers also expressed interest in virtual assessment tools that would allow them to “connect with their health care providers more quickly.” Quality of care, however, is a key concern, thus the onus is on health care organizations to develop the most robust and uncompromising mobile solutions possible.
PwC offers several other treatises on the mHealth trend, analyzing its benefits and noting that adoption of mobile health depends on a revolution of current health care technologies. While 64 percent of doctors and payers show excitement about mobile health possibilities, there is still plenty of potential in the market given that benchmark data and long-term business models are still in the experimental stages.
Patients are not the only players who stand to benefit — vendors and health care organizations can also win in an atmosphere of enhanced customer engagement. In fact, customer value and increased engagement are the goals of the recent 2013 plans from eClinicalWorks, which include a free mobile patient app designed to help customers access electronic medical records. Through this app, patients would be able to send questions about their records directly to their doctors or contact clinics to schedule appointments. Before making the announcement, eClinical Works conducted a survey that found that 93 percent of physicians interviewed “believed that mobile health apps can improve a patient’s health outcome.”
Initiatives like the mHealth Summit will help pave the way forward. The summit, scheduled for December, will host 400 exhibitors and 4,500 industry leaders from some 50 countries. Previous mHealth Summits have yielded valuable case studies that reveal how mobile apps can give patients new options for managing their conditions, among them diabetes trackers that store cloud-based data on diet, exercise and disease management.
According to PwC, privacy and security challenges are likely to become key concerns as more apps enter the market and patients grow more accustomed to them. As such, doctors and clinics will need to invest in greater security, a move that will require significant investment but also create potential for new IT fields as well as integrated, multi-platforms for enterprising vendors.
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