Mobile devices are playing a hugely significant role in the digital transformation of the healthcare sector. They are being used to revolutionize many aspects of healthcare – from patient communications to professional training. This guide investigates some of the ways in which mobile health, or mHealth, technology is overhauling healthcare around the world in 2019.
The Rise of mHealth in the 21st Century
Over the past few years, the mHealth sector has grown at a frenetic pace. Between 2015 and 2018, the number of health apps available for download almost doubled. Market experts expect this growth to continue and have projected that the sector will hit a global value of $60 billion by the year 2020.
What is Driving the Growth of the Global mHealth Market?
Many speculate that the phenomenal rise of mHealth is down to the proliferation of internet access through smartphones. At last count, 67% of the world’s population use a smartphone. Smartphones, internet access and healthcare apps allow people to take greater control of their health. This is especially the case in remote or poor locations with inadequate access to healthcare and medical facilities.
Learn More
If you are interested in the subject of mobile devices in healthcare, then you should browse through the below infographic from Home Healthcare Adaptations. This informative guide covers a wide range of subjects, including:
Interesting statistics relating to the rise of mobile health technology
Examples of how mobile devices can be used in healthcare provision
A list of some of the most popular medical apps
A brief explainer of the benefits and challenges associated with this technology
Scroll down to the infographic below to learn more.
Given the spirit of #mHealth13, I thought the following infographic was appropriate: mHealth stas: mobile apps, devices and solutions. Created by xcube labs, a mobile apps developer, it details the current use of mobile apps in healthcare by patients. Since mobile health, #mHealth, is now more than a $1.3 billion industry and it’s expected to grow to more than $20 billion by 2018, according to mhealthshare.
Not surprising, the use of smartphones is the most prominent device of physicians in the care setting, and an estimated 62 percent of physicians using tablets. Likewise, 72 percent of nurses and other caregivers are using smartphones in the care setting.
From a patient perspective, almost every person in the US – 247 million – have downloaded a healthcare app for their personal use, and there are more than 40,000 apps available for use by patients.
The sector is clearly burgeoning. For example, Becker’s Hospital Review recently reported that the vast majority of clinicians use mobile devices in their day-to-day practice. About four in five clinicians currently use smartphones every day, a rate which will increase to nine in the 10 next years.
Additionally, more than half of physicians use tablets daily. “Half of clinicians are ‘digital omnivores’ who routinely use a smartphone, tablet and computer currently, and 82 percent plan to within the next 12 months. Tablet and smartphone usage accounts for more than 40 percent of clinicians’ at-work digital time.”
Top uses for smartphones are using generic search functions (46 percent), accessing professional resources (38 percent) and communicating with colleagues (38 percent).
The ability of consumers and healthcare providers to access information and streamline processes using mobile devices is having a profound impact on healthcare.
For the first time this year, sales of smartphones are expected to surpass sales of traditional cell phones. More than 800 million smartphones are expected to be sold worldwide in 2013, according to Canalys. In addition, IDC predicts that more than 170 million tablets will be sold this year, surpassing laptop sales.
All these mobile devices in the hands of consumers means that the mobile app market will continue its torrid pace, and this is true in healthcare too. The market for mobile healthcare apps is expected to reach $400 million by 2016, according to ABI Research.
With the consumerization of healthcare, both doctors and hospitals have a vested interest in delivering an experience that will build patient loyalty. At the same time, new healthcare laws also are putting patients in a position of being more responsible for their own care. Healthcare providers who give patients the tools they need to simplify information and make informed choices will build stronger and longer relationships with patients. Mobile apps will be the heart of these tools.
Given the spirit of #mHealth13, I thought the following infographic was appropriate: mHealth stas: mobile apps, devices and solutions. Created by 