>Many would argue the greatest promise of mobile health lies in the developing world – areas where low-cost, portable diagnostic and treatment tools could impact millions of people.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge recently released a comprehensive study of mobile health applications in a nation where the confluence of poverty, geography, and rapid economic growth have created an environment where mobile health should thrive – China.
Having received unprecedented access from Mobile China, the largest mobile communications provider in the world, their findings are compiled in a 100+ page report on the promise of mobile health technology.
As the lead author, Professor Ian Leslie, stated in an interview with Research News (a University of Cambridge publication),
We saw an enormous range of existing mHealth applications in the course of our research, and our work with academics identified even more ideas for an even greater range.
In their report, they share a number of interesting findings as well as case reports. For example, they argue that mobile health will take very different paths in developed and developing countries. Here are a few highlights.
One particularly interesting argument they make is that mHealth technologies will integrate more extensively into healthcare infrastructure on the macro level in developing nations than in developed nations, at least in the short term. As they state in their report,
…mHealth will help to put in place robust administrative systems for healthcare delivery that are taken for granted in developed countries. Increasingly powerful mobile phones will be in the hands of health workers, delivering technologies previously available only in larger population centres.
In these nations, where basic infrastructure critical for healthcare (think medical facilities, roads, effective distribution systems, sufficient healthcare providers per capita) is often lacking, one of the few things that is generally present is mobile communications.
One of their case studies highlights a program in which consumers who purchase medications, in this case metformin, can verify that the medication is real by texting a scratch-off code to a central server and receive instant verification. When there are no reliable pharmacies, this can be a crucial advance in local healthcare.
In developed nations, they argue that, at least in the short term, mobile health applications will focus more on chronic disease and behavior management i.e. be more consumer focused. For example, one case study highlights an application from the UK’s National Health Service which allows users to track their alcohol intake, particularly around the holidays when binge drinking is problematic. The inputs are tracked and individuals receive feedback on when their behaviors are becoming concerning and what to do about it.
Overall, this report is probably the most comprehensive we have ever seen and really highlights the promise of mobile health applications. If you’ve got a few hours to kill, its a great read!
