Have an mHealth app? Join the crowd. The combination of the smartphone and the app stores has created a market for mHealth apps that will top $400 million and climb to 142 million downloads globally by 2016.
Many people are already using apps that do everything from monitor blood sugar levels and report them to your doctor to calculate how many calories you burn when you run. However, Jupiter Research predicts in the press release that, “in time, hardware peripherals attached to the smartphone will greatly extend the capabilities of these apps.”
The high tech communications research firm reports that hardware peripherals designed to work directly with mHealth apps will drive this explosion in growth, allowing the smartphone to become an important portable accessory to the healthcare world for both diagnosis and transmitting medical data to healthcare staff.
Even better, Juniper Research is betting that the proliferation of mHealth apps “will result in mHealth becoming increasingly mainstream,” according to its press release. Yahoo’s story reports that, according to report author Anthony Cox, “Acceptance of new healthcare practices like remote patient monitoring will come directly from consumers becoming engaged in mHealth through the smartphone.”
The study also found, the press release states, that mHealth apps, which still need FDA approval, will lead to a further surge in the market once FDA requirements are more fully clarified, expected soon.
Additionally, the ability to monitor patients at home rather than having them be hospitalized or use outpatient care will significantly reduce costs. The U.S. is out in front, the press release says, over other developed economies for this kind of patient care “due to the structure of the healthcare industry and insurance funding.”
The report adds, however, that further trials are needed to prove both the medical benefits and the potential cost savings of advanced mHealth services.
Deborah DiSesa Hirsch is an award-winning health and technology writer who has worked for newspapers, magazines and IBM in her 20-year career. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Jennifer Russell
