mHealthcare: Medical and healthcare access on the go

Mobile devices are no longer limited to communicating among family members, peers and colleagues. The device is now utilised as a tool to save lives and extend health care services, especially where mobility or access is impinged.

mHealth or mobile health,a sub-segment of eHealth, is the practice of medicine and public health, supported by mobile devices. Communication devices such as mobile phones, tablet and desktop computers and PDAs, as well as mobile applications (apps) are used for health services and information (such as patient data and clinical health data).

With the emergence of mHealth, it is now possible to involve more patients into the healthcare system, wherein previously, distance lack of facilities and low healthcare professionals-to-patient ratio, as well as costs hinder access as well as delivery.

Market research provider, Global Information’s recent mHealth market study says that mobile health services have now entered the commercialisation phase and will reach US$26 billion globally by 2017.

It has forecast that the global mHealth applications (apps) market will grow at a CAGR of 40.4% through 2015.

According to the study, consumers are not the only ones benefiting from smartphones to manage and improve their own health, but also healthcare professionals.

It says that about 15% of mHealth apps are primarily designed for healthcare professionals, which include Continued Medical Education (CME), remote monitoring and healthcare management applications.

There are currently 97,000 mobile health apps in major app stores.

Among the key factors contributing to this market growth is the increasing utilization of smartphones and social networking sites. In rural and semi-urban areas, there is still low penetration of smartphones and broadband, which challenge the consumption of mHealth apps among groups living in these areas.

A report from MarketsandMarkets says that the global mHealth market is estimated to be valued at US$6.6 billion this year and will increase to US$20.7 billion by 2018 with a CAGR of 25.5%.

The healthcare segment is a key driver for connected devices market and applications. It says that 80% of the mHealth market revenue is dominated by the connected medical devices segment that include cardiac monitoring, diabetes management devices, multi-parameter tracker, and other devices like sleep apnea devices, and respiratory monitors; and apps. Health apps include those used for general health; medical apps include those that generate medical references., and other applications like apps for mental health, dermatological treatment, and emergency response.

The study reveals that despite the higher download volume of healthcare apps, their revenue contribution is not significant since the majority of these apps are free, whereas, the paid ones cost minimally ( costing between US$1 to 2 per app).

MarketsandMarkets says that the cardiac monitoring devices account for a bigger share in the connected medical devices market, followed by diabetes management devices, and multi-parameter trackers. The highest growth will be driven by the diabetes management devices market during the forecast period, primarily due to the increasing global burden of diabetic population, the study says.

While mobile connectivity is seeing ongoing advancements, such as increasing ownership of smartphones and mobile devices, and penetration of 3G and 4G network, several factors are also staggering the surge of the mHealth market, such as FDA and EU regulations as well as data insecurity.

The North America takes the largest share of the global mHealth market this year, estimated to be valued at US$2.9 billion, while Europe and Asia are likely to witness potential growth due to significant adoption of mobile health technology and government initiatives. UK India, China, Japan, Africa, and Australia are the major contributors amongst all emerging countries this year.

Some software are now being developed to support the growing mHealth demand. Thailand’s ICT Ministry has recently introduced a mobile SOS software to facilitate emergency medical assistance through smartphones.

The software , i lert u, was developed by the Software Industry Promotion Agency. It has now been handed over to the National Institute for Emergency Medicine , Thai Airways International, Advanced Info Service (AIS), and Bangkok Hospital and its network, according to report.

What the software does is it sends an SOS signal by sending information on the phone’s location as well as any emergency contact numbers available. It is available free of charge for Android and iOS devices.

i lert u has already won two awards, including the Thailand ICT Award (TICTA) and the Asia Pacific ICT Award (APICTA). The developers of this software intend to make an app version of it.

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