In the wake of last week’s mHealth Summit in Washington, DC, there’s yet another bullish forecast on mobile health to consider. The Promise of Mobile Health asks the tagline question: “Bigger than DTC?” Euro RSCG’s Life 4D group, published the paper in November 2010. Survey data in the report followed up its October 2009 digital health survey in September 2010 among 502 American adults.
Euro RSCG rightly points out that consumers’ health needs are 24×7: “they take their healthcare needs with them.” The firm believes that the biggest barrier to wider consumer adoption of mobile health is the low penetration of “suitable mobile devices among consumers.” The report’s survey finds that consumers with smartphones are far more active and proactive in health than people with plain old cell phones. The red bars in the chart illustrate smartphone users’ future intentions to engage in mobile health.
The paper’s bullish forecast is that, “Now, the conditions in healthcare are ripe for breakthroughs in mobile technology and applications. The professionals in the domain are the ‘low-hanging fruit’ in the healthcare ecosystem. The next stages of development in mobile healthcare will be shaped by technologies that serve the needs of patients in healthcare.”
More analysis from Health Populi here
