The mobile health trend started to pick up steam halfway through last year: Since then a flurry of reports have hit the interwebs with insightful analysis and punchy interviews well worth reading.

At the close of 2009, MobiHealthNews published its own Wireless Health State of the Industry Report, which we offered up as a holiday gift to our readers. There are many other high quality reports currently available free to download, including one penned and researched by esteemed health economist Jane Sarasohn-Kahn called How Smartphones Are Changing Health Care for Consumers and Providers, which the California Health Care Foundation published over the weekend. It is a must read.

We have assembled five mobile health industry reports, including Sarasohn-Kahn's as part of our early spring reading list. If you haven't yet soaked in these five mHealth reports, you are handicapping your mHealth acumen. Here's five freely downloadable reports you must read:

How Smartphones Are Changing Health Care for Consumers and Providers by Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, M.A., M.H.S.A., published by the California Health Care Foundation (April 2010)

CHCF's description: "The recent adoption and use of smartphones by both consumers and providers of health care are the focus of this timely report by Jane Sarasohn-Kahn. The uptake of this technology is rapid; two-thirds of physicians and 42% of the public used smartphones as of late 2009, despite the recession that began a year earlier. The creation of applications related to health and health care is also moving quickly. As of February 2010, there were nearly 6,000 such apps within the Apple AppStore. Of these, 73% were intended for use by consumer or patient end-users, while 27% were targeted to health care professionals. Apps geared to physicians include alerts, medical reference tools, diagnostic tools, continuing medical education, and patient records programs. Consumer-oriented apps include those for medication compliance, mobile and home monitoring, home care, managing conditions, and wellness/fitness. There are challenges to continued rapid smartphone growth, including business model and privacy issues." Free Download

Why we recommend it: Sarasohn-Kahn conducted dozens of interviews with a veritable who's who of thinkers working in and around smartphones in healthcare. The results are clear: A laser-focused report on the smartphone's role in healthcare. It goes without saying that smartphones have become increasingly important in the industry. (What's more Jane was kind enough to invite me to peer review the report and she also included a number of references to MobiHealthNews: The World of Health & Medical Apps. :) It's hot off the presses and as noted before, it's a must read.