What is mHealth?
Are you tired of standing in queue to visit the doctor? If yes, then you should surely learn more about mobile health apps.
mHealth or Mobile Healthcare apps have become an essential part of healthcare industries’ settings and demands. To satisfy the customer experience majority of the professional and personal healthcare systems are taking advantage of mobile applications.
According to grand view research, the global mobile apps health market is estimated to reach USD 105.9 billion by 2030. It is expected to grow at an 11.8% CAGR in the forecasted timeline.
The reasons behind the development of mHealth apps in the healthcare industry are:
- mHealth or mobile healthcare apps help in the reduction of patient treatment costs by providing services remotely. According to the study published in the Journal of Medical Economics, it was found that the use of mobile health apps related to heart disease led to a reduction of cost in healthcare by $2000 per patient per year.
- According to the same study the accessibility and convenience improved for patients who use mobile health apps. So, these are the important elements.
- mHealth apps help in improving communication between healthcare providers and patients.
- Mobile healthcare apps help in data collection and data analysis to improve research and treatment. 88% of mHealth apps include code that could potentially collect user data.
- One of the most important reasons is self-management. mHealth apps empower patients as they don’t have to rely on anybody.
Stay here with us as by the end of this blog you will get a better understanding of how mHealth has transformed the healthcare industry.
What You Must Know About mHealth Apps?
Mobile healthcare apps or mHealth apps are software programs. The mHealth (mobile health) apps have the potential to bring revolution in the healthcare industry as they deliver services outside the conventional care settings.
There are different types of applications, for instance, remote patient monitoring apps, diagnose-related apps, therapy-related apps, health record apps, telemedicine apps and so on.
Mobile apps are not just helpful for patients and doctors but even for pharmacists and hospital staff.
Variety of Purpose
The mHealth apps help patients with chronic conditions. For instance, patients with diabetes can use mHealth apps for tracking symptoms, setting reminders to take insulin and so on.
People who are unable to lose weight can download mHealth apps that work on fitness and nutrition. The mHealth apps promote mental health and spread awareness.
Mobile health apps allow patients to have virtual consultations. The mHealth apps help both patients and healthcare staff in sharing health data.
mHealth Global Market
According to IQVIA institute report, more than 90,000 new mHealth apps were introduced in the year 2020.
Before 2020 the number of mHealth apps existing was more than 350,000. As the importance of mHealth apps is growing in the industry, the growth in investment is noticed.
The mHealth market is dominated by North America as it accounted for the largest revenue share in 2021; which was of 38%.
Potential Risks
The potential risk of a mHealth app can be related to privacy concerns and data security.
These are the two major factors which can become the reason behind the hindrance to the growth of the mHealth app market.
The major concerns can be confidential information accessible to third parties, data breaches, hacking issues and even the automatic installation of malicious programs.
According to the medical economic report, the number of mHealth apps got approved by FDA was only 219 in the year 2018.
How mHealth Apps are Benefitting the Healthcare Business?
The new revolution in healthcare is definitely digital health; mHealth apps are part of Digital health.
It has made the healthcare industry more approachable. It is time-saving as well as an easier option for the patients since not everyone can manage in-person visits.
Almost every person with a smartphone uses one or more than one mHealth applications.
So, the new goal for any Healthcare organization should be to create its own application and provide all the facilities to people in a more convenient manner in order to build their business.
Well Managed Records
All the best mHealth apps in the market have developed advanced technologies towards Electronic Health Records [EHR].
EHR in mHealth app plays a pivotal role as it allows both patients and healthcare staff to keep the records updated. Electronic Health Record includes medical history, lab results and even the current medications of the patient.
The EHR system with medical billing option helps both parties in payment details, reduction in the time of reimbursement process, consistent revenue generation and enhanced productivity.
Reduced Frauds
The growth of the mHealth app led to a reduction in the number of medical frauds. The transparency between healthcare staff and patients is one of the most appreciable factors.
Transparency builds trust between both parties. There are no such cases of false billing since patients are informed about every check-up or virtual treatment beforehand.
Every data from financial details to health practice is kept safe and they cannot be altered by any party.
These are a few reasons behind the inclination of patients towards mHealth apps which is an advantage for Healthcare Businesses.
e-Prescription
Electronic prescription or e-Prescription is created, sent, and received electronically. It is a digital version of the old paper prescription method.
Electronic prescription is more preferred because they cannot be forged or stolen.
Electronic prescription when integrated with the EHR helps to reduce the possibility of medication error. As the medication error reduces, patient satisfaction increases.
Data Privacy
Since the conventional setting has always been risky and questionable; ensuring the privacy of the data to protect patient’s rights can be a game changer for the healthcare business.
The mHealth apps keep the data encrypted and only allow authorized users to access that data.
In order to access the data, users are required to authenticate themselves using biometric authentication or unique passwords.
All the legal mHealth apps comply with regulations like HIPAA in the US.
The healthcare industry should start working on data privacy management to prevent potential risks of it.
Improved Patient Engagement
The improvement in patient engagement is noticed after the introduction of mobile health apps.
The improved engagement is directly related to the growth of the healthcare industry.
The mHealth apps also allow doctors to have great coordination with patients.
It results in good communication between both parties.
Patients these days expect quality care which is only possible when the mHealth apps would have the potential to provide patient-focused care and personalized solutions.
Excellent Business Opportunity
The introduction of advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Automation, and Cybersecurity has changed the face of the healthcare industry.
Although the healthcare industry has still not fully embraced these technologies these are the future of the healthcare industry.
The mHealth apps help the healthcare industry to build a brand of its own in order to be at the top of the list of excellent healthcare services.
If we talk about the business opportunity and growth then a company which is one of the oldest telemedicine companies in the US has completed around 15.4 million telehealth visits in 2021.
What are Some Popular mHealth Mobile Apps and What Services Do They Provide?
Here are the names of a few mobile health applications that you might have heard of before:
Teladoc Health
One of the most important factors behind the transformation of the healthcare industry is telecommunication [telehealth/telemedicine].
This app is a telemedicine app through which the users can consult with any doctor remotely.
Teladoc health mobile app allows users to access all their health data, and schedule a meeting and patients can even receive prescription renewals through this app.
Doctor on Demand
Have you ever been in a situation where you cannot visit a hospital or cannot call a doctor at home? Well, I am sure we all go through situations like these.
The technology nowadays is so advanced that through this app you can virtually visit a licensed health provider.
Remote patient monitoring is a part of the Internet of medical things (IoMT). IoMT is capable of bringing medical care in regions where finding a single licensed doctor is impossible and it certainly makes health practices more efficient.
Reflex
This mobile health app allows the user to use their own device’s camera to examine and track if any changes happen in the colour of the patient’s skin. With this information, they provide you insights into the patient’s overall wellness.
The technology this mobile application uses is machine learning; to train models so they can learn from the data available of a certain patient. Machine learning helps this app in analysing the data.
Talkspace
As awareness regarding mental health is spreading, people have started taking mental health seriously.
Talkspace is an application which offers virtual therapy and counselling services.
This mobile health application is considered a digital therapeutic platform. This application has combined AI (Artificial intelligence) technology. This mobile app also provides AI-powered Chatbots to their patients.
Heart Pal
Do you still use that old blood pressure machine? If yes, then you should learn more about the technology mHealth apps are using to make check-ups and treatment easier for you.
This mobile app is suitable for people having heart-related issues since it monitors heart rate, tracks blood pressure and all your physical activities.
Further, it provides you with the readings and the necessary information coming out of that. One of the important aspects of such mHealth apps is cyber security.
As mHealth apps like Heart Pal include the private data of patients; it needs to protect data and store it in a secure environment (cloud storage).
Wrapping it up here!
Mobile health apps are transforming the healthcare industry. As mentioned above, the technologies mobile health app uses such as cyber security, Iomt, artificial intelligence, machine learning, telemedicine & so on have had a significant impact on user experience.
Techspian has been a healthcare technology partner of Fittr application. Fittr is an application which is best for fitness enthusiasts or people dealing with weight issues. It includes features such as a personalized workout plan, goal setting, tracking progress and every physical activity.
Techspian is known for providing the best solutions such as patient goal monitoring, EHR management, EMR, Pharmacy Scheduling, registration and loyal platforms and so many others.
If you are planning of creating an app then don’t wait and contact us today!
Let’s become a part of this revolution!
Author: Ojasvita Singh
