mHealth grows around the world, but the lack of evidence hinders adoption Health Care Advice

mHealth grows around the world, but the lack of evidence hinders adoption

WHO learned that mHealth is most easily deployed into health applications where voice communication via traditional phone networks has been used. Thus, in important applications like surveillance and decision support, mHealth is less likely to be established because these functions require more advanced capabilities and technology infrastructure.

The survey evaluated mHealth services in 14 categories, as shown in the chart. These include health call centres, emergency toll-free phone services, emergencies and disasters, mobile telemedicine, appointment reminders, community mobilization and health promotion, treatment compliance, mobile patient records, information access, patient monitoring, health surveys and data collection, surveillance, health awareness raising, and decision support.

The most prevalent of these services are toll-free emergency applications, mobile health call centres and emergency services, and mobile telemedicine, all available in over 50% of WHO member states. In addition, mHealth-based appointment reminders are available in a plurality of nations.

The most popularly piloted mHealth programs include patient monitoring, treatment compliance, mobile telemedicine, and patient records.

The second chart presents the major barriers to mHealth implementation cited by WHO member states. The most significant barrier to adopting mHealth is competing priorities within health systems. Without a strong evidence-base, WHO concludes, nations with limited health resources must allocate them based on expected return on investment — for example, buying vaccines versus investing in a mobile health project.

The second most cited barrier is “knowledge:” in this case, understanding how mHealth can impact public health. Here again, evidence needs to be gathered and disseminated so that potential investors in mobile health applications can identify the right application and success factors for their health citizens – taking into account limited health resources.

Gathering a sound evidence-base is key to mHealth getting its due around the world. Yet the level of evaluation of the projects, both established and piloting, is scant, based on the survey findings.

Public policy, cost-effectiveness, legal issues and operational expenses are also key barriers to adopting mHealth programs. In many countries, the concept of mHealth isn’t part of public policymakers’ mindsets. WHO rightly points out that technology has developed far faster than the public’s understanding of how it can positively impact public health.

One important barrier not mentioned in the survey, but suggested early in the report, is the lack of a standard definition of “mHealth.” WHO defines it as “medical and public health practice supported by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other wireless devices.”

The important point here is that mobile health goes beyond the mobile phone: that there is a growing array of various mobile platforms that can be used for mHealth. Infrastructure-independent health services are being deployed in countries, both rich and less-so. Because this survey is based on 2009 data, the needle will have moved in 2010 on mHealth. But this survey does prove that mHealth is a moving market, on the upswing, the world over.

Virtual Health Center