Mobile Healthcare

Abstract

The ‘internet of people’ is at the forefront of transforming the healthcare industry to a value-based, sustainable mobile phone mode, often referred to as mhealth. A combination of factors is driving this trend: First, technology drivers such as the global proliferation of mobile devices, particularly smartphones, and cloud computing; secondly, healthcare drivers associated with the outcomes of healthcare, patient outreach and an insufficient number of medical professionals to cope with increasing social demands; and finally, financial drivers involving healthcare cost containment and the rate of healthcare reimbursement. The integration of sensors and smartphones is allowing mhealth to aid the collection of clinical data in the real-world and hence improve not only health outcomes but also reduce healthcare costs. The historic trajectory of mobile technology and its potential in healthcare is reviewed, followed by exploring the potential of mhealth as a comprehensive ecological model that encompasses complex relationships among its components. mHealth as a sustainable solution is poised to revolutionise the healthcare industry through a shift from a sick-care to a health-care model where value is the strategic point of interest. Further along the patient pathway, mhealth provides healthcare services to chronically ill patients through patient-centred solutions to substantially enhance their life quality.