Mobile health provides a grand number of services for both healthcare providers and patients, thus enhancing the overall healthcare experience.

What do we do first thing in the morning and the last thing before we go to bed? A majority of us would point to a form of screen, mostly phones. Phones, tablets and other gadgets that we possess have so effortless taken over our lives and have modified our ways of living around their circumferences. Some of us might not be addicted to it but we always have them on us as they are extremely handy. From doing simple math to booking a cab, there is so much convenience that has entered our everyday activities due to our gadgets. As we use them practically the entire day, mobile health is a growing concept that is gaining popularity amongst those conscious about leading a healthy lifestyle. In fact, mobile health apps are revolutionizing the medical industry and tweaking doctor-patient relationships for the greater good. If a patient could furnish information about vital signs to medical professionals, they can diagnose an ailment and direct them towards a treatment procedure. Mobile health is a great method of collecting information from patients. In order to provide excellent medical care, doctors and nurses make use of patients’ histories, appointment schedules, information on previous drug prescription, billing data and other details in relation to their medical treatment. Having real-time access beforehand can familiarize the entire condition and improve the quality of healthcare.

What is mobile health?

Mobile health, otherwise known as m-health, falls under the ‘e-Health’ category. It makes use of mobile communication devices such as tablets, phones, notebooks, PDAs etc. to provide health services and information to both patients and healthcare providers. Mobile health saves a lot of time and slashes costs through information and services provision online. Mobile health apps come extremely in handy for those who suffer from chronic diseases and need to get in touch with their doctor or hospital on a regular basis. A simple example of mobile health is the booking of a doctor’s appointment. Instead of having to call the front office of the hospital, wait for an operator to take your call and then ask for dates and timings, you can log onto a healthcare app that lets you check for appointments slots and book them online as well. Not only is it of utmost convenience to the patients, the clinics are also furnished with details of appointments made. Sounds like quite a win-win situation, doesn’t it?

Comprehending the dependency on smartphones, medical and health practices are thriving in the digital world, so much that the healthcare industry is profusely benefitted by its practice. This has lead to a never-ending rise in the number of mobile health applications we find in the market. However, a good quality mobile health app requires time, planning, a significant budget and a lot of dedication to see it through. You might notice that most apps available today either provide too less or too much which are both not convenient to the user.

Applications of mobile health apps:

Providers:

• Patient monitoring is made possible with mobile health apps. In certain cases, wearable devices and GPS technology are used for a period of time to understand a patient’s overall health and well-being. For example, a wearable device can detect an increase in blood pressure that can be fatal to the patient. In this case, immediate treatment can be provided.
• Healthcare providers can send timely reminders to patients on their appointments, surgeries, and other tests.
• Electronic health records are enabled on the mobile which permits providers to have access to patients’ overall health information at any time and any place. Therefore, being out of the clinic or hospital is never a constraint. It maintains the levels of productivity outside the workplace.

Consumers:

• Ease of access to information at any time. It could be related to their healthcare program or information on health and medicine in general.
• Appointment booking is no more than a click of a button. Since all the information is provided on the screen, one has to do nothing but choose a preferred date and time.
• If patients have undergone tests, they do not need to map a visit all the way to the laboratory. They can take a look online. This holds good for refilling prescriptions as well.
• Getting in touch with a physician or a specialist is a piece of cake. Mobile health apps provide a platform to communicate with providers. These messages are encrypted and safe. These platforms are referred to as patient portals.

What are the benefits of mobile health apps?

Apart from streamlining administrative tasks, communication is made absolutely easy and secure. Here are some ways mobile health apps have improved the state of medical care dynamically:

• Patient engagement: With more power to them, patients involve themselves more in the treatment process, understand the medical aspects and express their preferences.
• Convenience: It saves a lot of time and increases productivity without having to break a sweat. The time saved in administrative tasks and information seeking can be put to better use in other aspects of the medical treatment.
• A network of specialists: Peers can directly get in touch with each other and share information and details of patients ethically.
• Information dissemination: Information is very sequentially and legibly passed on between doctors and patients.

Mobile health apps are the future of a digitalized healthcare industry. Healthcare providers are allotting budgets and hiring manpower to build an online presence that would be of utmost usefulness in gaining a reputed brand name while taking care of every single need of their patients.