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Mobile health -- the future of medicine? Pieter Vandervoort at TEDxUHasseltSalon

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Why mobile technology may well define the future of healthcare... for everyone.

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The delivery of healthcare services through mobile devices, or mHealth, is fast becoming a global reality. As this stimulating video from PricewaterhouseCoopers shows, the lower costs, immediacy and widespread availability of mobile technology are already starting to change the way patients receive their care, making healthcare faster, better and cheaper.

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Adibi, S. (2014). mHealth: Multidisciplinary Verticals. CRC Press. Taylor & Francis Group.

Bastawrous, A., & Armstrong, M. J. (2013). Mobile health use in low- and high-income countries: an overview of the peer-reviewed literature. Journal of The Royal Society of Medicine, 106(4), 130-142. doi:10.1177/0141076812472620

Choi, B. Y., Blumberg, C., & Williams, K. (2016). Mobile integrated health care and community paramedicine: An emerging emergency medical services concept. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 67(3), 361-366. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2015.06.005

Coulon, S. M., Monroe, C. M., & West, D. S. (2016). A systematic, multi-domain review of mobile smartphone apps for evidence-based stress management. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 51(1), 95-105. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2016.01.026

Doyle-Lindrud, S. (2014). Mobile health technology and the use of health-related mobile applications. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 18(6), 634-636. doi:10.1188/14.CJON.634-636

Fennell, R., & Escue, C. (2013). Using mobile health clinics to reach college students: A national demonstration project. American Journal of Health Education, 44(6), 343-348. doi:10.1080/19325037.2013.838918

Iskander, M., Lou, J., Wells, M., & Scarbecz, M. (2016). A poster and a mobile healthcare application as information tools for dental trauma management. Dental Traumatology, 32(6), 457-463. doi:10.1111/edt.12278

McConnell, M. V., & Ashley, E. A. (2017). Mobile health research --app-based trials and informed consent. New England Journal of Medicine, 376(9), 861-863.

Mobile Medical Applications (2015). U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/DigitalHealth/MobileMedicalApplications/default.htm

Teo, C. H., Ng, C. J., & White, A. (2017). What do men want from a health screening mobile app? A qualitative study. Plos ONE, 12(1), 1-16. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0169435

Wei, P., Kanthawala, S., Shupei, Y., & Hussain, S. A. (2016). A qualitative study of user perceptions of mobile health apps. BMC Public Health, 16(1), 1-11. doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3808-0

Wolf et al. (2013). "Diagnostic inaccuracy of smartphone applications for melanoma detection". JAMA Dermatology. 149 (4): 422–426.

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Looking ahead into the future of mobile health technology and applications, it is not unreasonable to assume that such technology will continue to have exponential growth and implications for global healthcare. New technological advances are occurring every day, and when accompanied with healthcare, make access to medicine more available, cost-efficient, and convenient (Doyle-Lindrud, 2014).

As mobile health continues to develop and improve, I hypothesize that programmers will develop the technology to be easier to use so that individuals without computer backgrounds, the elderly, and children will perhaps be able to utilize such applications for their health. By working to enhance mHealth technology’s ease of use, accessibility, and form of communication to its users, it is reasonable to assume that global health disparities will work to diminish.

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Impact of the Trend on Healthcare Informatics

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Impact of the Trend on Healthcare Informatics

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Mobile health and applications remains a prominent issue in healthcare informatics, and directly affects how accessed is accessed, used, and delivered. Because handheld, smart technology is so widely used throughout the world in today’s society, it is especially important to maintain appropriate legal guidelines and regulations. The U.S Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, is responsible for assessing and maintaining safety of any food and drug for medical purposes (Mobile Medical Applications, 2015). According to the FDA, they will maintain the same “risk-based” evaluation approach towards mobile health technology as any other medical device. Occasionally, the line that ascertains what is considered a mobile health device or application can be grayed. The FDA attempts to clarify this by stating they will monitor any device or technology that acts as an “accessory to regulated medical device”, or any technology that “transforms a mobile platform into a regulated medical device” (Mobile Medical Applications, 2015).

In other words, mobile health and smart applications are required to maintain the same legal regulations as standard, traditional forms of healthcare. An ongoing area of concern for mHealth technology relates to patient privacy, confidentiality, and data security measures enacted by HIPAA legislation. In principle, any technology is susceptible to malware and hacking—mHealth technology is no exception. Any information used with mobile health technology and health applications can be exposed, intentionally or not. Another realistic threat occurs if the device is stolen, or simply lost or misplaced. This can physically put classified protected health information at risk to someone not authorized. Another realistic concern among mobile health technology for patients and clinicians refers to the notion that there may be a sharp decline in physical, in-person doctor visits (Doyle-Lindrud, 2014). This is to say that patients may over rely on such technology as a replacement for a physician or treatment service, and healthcare systems may directly suffer.

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Review of Current Literature on the Trend

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Review of Current Literature on the Trend

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According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, by next year, approximately 1.7 billion smart phone and tablet users will be actively using mobile health applications throughout their everyday lives (Mobile Medical Applications, 2015). Recent data has shown beneficial results and majority favorable viewpoints towards the use of mHealth technology for medical purposes. A qualitative study by BMC Public Health stated that although users of mobile health technology must be somewhat technologically savvy and desired to use such technologies, mHealth can serve to provide a more convenient and practical means in health maintenance (Wei, Kanthawala, Shupei, and Hussain, 2016). More specifically, Wei et al. (2016) found the greatest benefit in establishing health goals for patients using mobile health and smart applications.

A recent qualitative study of 31 males among diverse backgrounds (age, ethnicities, social class standing) were surveyed in an attempt for researchers to better understand what men want from a mobile health application (Teo, Ng, and White, 2017). According to the study, ease of use, relatable content, and social connectivity were the top three topics selected for highest priority among users (Teo, Ng, and White, 2017). These results reflect the sampled individuals’ most important areas in which programmers of mHealth technology should focus. Another recent study by McConnell and Ashley (2017) discussed the many widespread uses and applications in which mHealth could provide.

According to Bastawrous and Armstrong (2013), mobile health and smart applications have already shown medical benefits in “diagnostics, telemedicine, research, reference libraries and interventions”. Outside of simply providing text-based information, mobile health and smart apps can further benefit patients by actively incorporating high-definition cameras, microphone, GPS, and accelerometers—all of which can be found already in most smart, cell phones (McConnell and Ashley, 2017). Another scholarly study found that mobile health and smart applications focusing on stress reduction techniques for health management were successful in decreasing stress levels among participants (Coulon, Monroe, West, 2016). Furthermore, researchers found that mobile health applications were also useful for paramedics and emergency responders in responding to community emergencies in which they were required to quickly “fill in the gaps” within a given scenario (Choi, Blumberg, and Williams, 2016).

Another recent study found mobile health technology beneficial for further educating dental students. According to the study, 89 dental students incorporated various educational resources provided by researchers in assisting their studies (Iskander, Lou, Wells, and Scarbecz, 2016). The results revealed that approximately 71% of the students showed interest in receiving educational material through mHealth applications (Iskander, Lou, Wells, and Scarbecz, 2016). Another potential benefit in which mHealth technology may provide  is for medication management. Doyle-Lindrud (2014) found that patients can use mHealth services through medication-based health applications. Doyle-Lindrud (2014) states that these applications can provide an invaluable tool for patients when dealing with numerous medications, including: doses, refills, reconciliation, and interactions. Additionally, a campus-based health clinic found that implementation of a mobile health application for college students in the area were beneficial in health prevention and health maintenance uses, in which students responded well to (Fennell and Escue, 2013).

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Mobile health, or “m-Health”, refers to the use of electronic, portable devices for health purposes. Mobile devices can include a wide array of handheld electronics, including: smart phones, PDAs, tablets, laptops, and smart watches. Either the device themselves may be programmed directly with medical software or the mobile devices may host installed, smart applications for healthcare purposes. Because mobile devices are inherently small in size—designed for portable use—they serve as a highly convenient way to access personal health care data, including: provider information, lab results, diagnoses, medications, and many more health care resources.

Mobile health and smart apps is considered a recent innovation in medicine and  provides an “on-the-go” portable healthcare resource for patients, providers, and families alike. According to Adibi (2014), mobile health technology was initially developed through recent innovations in handheld technology for the intent in benefiting developing countries in which healthcare access was limited. The logic followed that since cell phones and other various mobile devices were prevalent even in poor, rural areas of the world, perhaps these devices could serve to provide a realistic, cost-effective way to provide healthcare resources for those in need. Since its development and initial use throughout developing nations regions such as Africa and Eastern Asia, mobile health is being used today all over the globe, even among more industrialized nations for its practicality, ease of use, affordability, and time efficiency (Wolf et al., 2013).