About
Mobile Health 360 was started in 2010 by a physician and a health care communications specialist. Our goal is to look at how technology is improving health care, and we believe the next revolution is mobile health. Personalized medicine, Smartphones, social media, personal health records, and many other developments are all converging and creating unparalleled opportunities in health.
We want to make this an open discussion so please provide comments and if you want to post blogs, reviews or contribute to the App Review Project, sign up here.
For a full list of this blog’s contributors, click here.
So, why mobile Health?
It is estimated that over 90% of Americans use the Internet as their primary health information resource. Additionally, over 40% owned Smartphones in 2009, a growth of over three times from just two years earlier, despite the recession. Eighty percent of Americans already have traditional cell phones, indicating the potential growth of this new market. It is estimated that 70% of all phones sold in 2013 will be Smartphones. 40% of individuals over age 70 use cell phones and more than 70% of those who have two or more chronic diseases also use them.
Additionally, use of the Internet on Smartphones has jumped more than 75% from 2007 to 2009, demonstrating a significant increase in the use of this medium while outside of the house or office. As an example of how individuals are accessing health information through mobile devices, WebMD has had over one million app downloads in less than a year. African Americans and Hispanics are the largest groups utilizing Smartphones and are the fastest growing segment with this device.
These facts are merely some of the extremely impressive growth statistics to describe what is occurring as technology continues to evolve. As this process happens, we would like to explore the implications of this movement and technology in general and more specifically what it means to health care. This site is designed to do just that: to explore the implications of certain areas of the mobile health movement and what that might mean in the future.
The Smartphone market is growing incredibly rapidly. With over 80 million iPhones/iPod touches sold in the past few years alone (nearly 60% of these in the U.S.), Apple has transformed the way individuals communicate and gather information. The Apple App store has grown enormously over this time as well, now offering over 200,000 apps and quickly moving to a global landscape. But Apple is not alone. Both Research in Motion (RIM) and Google are staking claim as the leaders in this emerging field. RIM has been the big boy in town for a long time, running this entire segment of the market pretty much for years. Google’s Android is catching everyone by surprise as it continually gets adopted into new phones. See here for an interesting graph from Nielsen on how operating system market shares is shifting.
However, what sets Apple apart for now is that in April 2010 the company unveiled a new product that has been heralded by many as one that will change multiple industries: the iPad. This device, a hybrid between a Smartphone and a laptop, provides unprecedented access to information and support to individuals on a real-time basis. Its sleek, light-weight design, 3G broadband access, and ability to integrate videos, pictures, geolocation, calendars, and many other features truly separates it from other products developed in technology to date. Apple has already sold over three million iPads in three months. It also sold almost just as many of the new iPhone4 in a third of this time. These are incredible numbers and point to a future in which technology plays a far different role.
We here at mhealth360 are embracing this technology revolution but want to explore it from all sides to understand its full potential impact. Personalized medicine, finance, and daily patient care are merely some of the ways health care is changing now, and all could play significant roles in the emergence of mobile health.
Please join us as we explore this movement and many of the other pertinent technology advancements and discussions in health care.
