What is mHealth?

From one side, mHealth is an abbreviation for mobile health, a term used for the practice of medicine and public health supported by mobile devices. The term is most commonly used in reference to using mobile communication devices, such as mobile phones, tablet computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs), and wearable devices such as smart watches, for health services, information, and data collection.

From another side, the mHealth field has emerged as a sub-segment of eHealth, the use of information and communication technology (ICT), such as computers, mobile phones, communications satellite, patient monitors, etc., for health services and information. mHealth applications include the use of mobile devices in collecting community and clinical health data, delivery/sharing of healthcare information for practitioners, researchers and patients, real-time monitoring of patient vital signs, the direct provision of care (via mobile telemedicine) as well as training and collaboration of health workers.

m-Health is the use of mobile wireless technologies for health. This often, but not always, involves the use of a smartphone. A simple use of m-Health is remote access to healthcare information and services. Estonia’s e-Health record is an example of a nationwide system whereby patients and emergency services are able to access summary health data remotely via an “e-Patient portal”. The National Health Service in the UK has recently launched the NHS App which allows patients to access their summary medical record (including test results) and book appointments, with further functionality being added rapidly. The European Society of Cardiology produces Apps for healthcare professionals, such as clinical guideline Apps, but also Apps for patients. The My AF App allows patients to record symptoms and quality-of-life data, which can be shared with healthcare professionals to add further value to interactions with clinicians.

Patient education is a key factor in improving health outcomes, particularly in cardiovascular disease, with improvements in diet, exercise, smoking cessation and medication compliance helping to optimise the outcome of care and lifestyle choices. Health literacy in Europe is poor: in a study across eight European countries, 47% of participants had low or inadequate health literacy, rising to 61% for those with more than one long-term illness. The NHS recently partnered with Amazon to allow people to access health advice via its voice assistant Alexa, and there is a proliferation of educational Apps aimed at presenting information in a more visual, easy-to-understand manner. Others allow symptom tracking and/or are even able to perform basic triage and provide health advice.

Various health authorities are providing guidance on how to assess healthcare Apps, perhaps permitting healthcare professionals to be more confident in using data collected by patients, or even “prescribing” Apps that have the strongest evidence for benefit. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in England has produced an evidence standards framework for digital technologies to help clinicians evaluate the effectiveness and economic impact of new digital technologies, including Apps. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the USA regulates mobile Apps whose functionality could pose a risk to patient safety if they did not function as intended, but many “health and wellbeing” Apps are careful to avoid making definite medical claims to avoid such regulation.

The Catalan government, in association with the ICT Social Health Foundation, has created a public library of health Apps which have been accredited as being fit for purpose, trustworthy for the management of health, secure and credible. Similarly, in the UK, the NHS Apps Library catalogues Apps that have been assessed as safe, secure and meeting technical standards.

mHealth applications include the use of mobile devices in:

• collecting community and clinical health data
• delivery of healthcare information to practitioners, researchers
• real-time monitoring of patient vital signs

What’s the goal of mhealth?

• To improve the delivery of healthcare
• Improve quality and access
• Care-coordination
• Lower rehospitalizations
• Improve outcomes
• Lower infection rates
• Monitor patient status in real time

Types of mHealth technology

• Tablets
• Smart phones
• Apps
• Wearbles
• Implantables

mHealth Apps have a wide range in scope

• Online apps or on a device
• Health & wellness
• Diagnostic and testing
• Patient education
• Labs & Imaging
• Social Media integration