mHealth June 2013
mHealth mHealth, or mobile health, is a sub-segment of eHealth and refers to the healthcare services supported by mobile devices (basically mobile phones). It has the ability to take healthcare services to remote locations that lack them and to provide timely care to people of those areas. mHealth can also facilitate data collection related to public health, diseases, pollution, etc. It has the potential to improve quality and efficiency of and access to healthcare in a costeffective manner in both developed and emerging markets. Mobile application is one such area of mHealth that can provide users of a smartphone with basic healthcare information and also with healthcare services. Mobile phone connection will soon surpass global population Adoption of mobile devices over the globe has seen phenomenal growth in last few years. Penetration of global mobile subscription increased to c.91% in 2012 from just c.34% in 2005, and is further estimated to reach c.96% by the end of 2013. 7.5
91%
96%
100%
85% 77%
6.0
80%
68% 60% 4.5
60%
50% 42%
3.0
34%
40%
1.5
20%
0.0
0% 2005
2006
2007
Mobile Subscriptions (Bn)
2008
2009
2010
World Population (Bn)
2011
2012
2013E
Mobile Penetration Rate (%)
Source: ITU; UN Population Division
As such, mobile devices provide a tremendous opportunity for the healthcare services delivery. They can help consumers manage their day-to-day health. On the other hand, they can help healthcare providers deliver better quality of care to a larger number of patients. They can also act as a medium of patient information sharing and allow healthcare providers (like physicians) to monitor and provide care to patients remotely.
mHealth
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Healthcare-related mobile apps that are of most interest to consumers
44%
Calorie Counter
25%
Healthy Eating
37% 30%
Fitness/Training
36% 33% 33% 26%
Nutrition
23% 19%
General Health & Lifestyle
15% 12%
Medication Reminder
13% 15%
Sleep Monitoring Apps to Access Health Magazines, Blogs, etc.
12% 12%
Private Medical Provider
11% 8%
Educate Children on Health
10% 7%
Advice/Support on Longterm Medical Conditions
9% 10%
Female
Females are more interested in health applications than their counterparts who exhibit more interest in sleep monitoring applications. Some of the most important apps for consumers (Calorie Counter, Healthy Eating, Fitness and Nutrition) are related to day-to-day healthy habits and monitoring. Health apps market is estimated to grow at c.82% annually over the next few years As per industry estimation, currently there are about 97,000 health apps. These apps are adapted by consumers and physicians alike. Of the total Health apps services market in 2017, c.84% will be accounted by products (such as sensors) and services related to health apps, while the rest will be contributed by apps download. Though mHealth cannot be a substitute for a face-to-face interaction between a patient and a physician, it still can play a crucial role in many other areas of healthcare. Changing technology landscape and widespread use of mobile devices will change the way healthcare is received and provided in days to come.
Male
Source: A Survey by Ruder Finn
“There are lots of reasons that make sense for users to track their health data while they are on the go via a smartphone app. There are lots of use cases where mobile apps in health and fitness make life easier for patients, decrease costs of the treatment and basically improve patients’ outcome.” - Ralf-Gordon Jahns, Managing Director, research2guidance
mHealth
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