Mobile health technology is all around us. mHealth is most likely here to stay. Hospitals and health systems continue to investigate novel methods to employ mHealth to better engage patients, enhance patient health outcomes and satisfaction, and even cut costs. Healthcare is undoubtedly the best example of the explosion of possibilities in mobile apps.
With the potential to do so much good for suffering people, it’s no wonder that so many developers are jumping into the mHealth fray. To understand what mhealth is and its uses, I have provided an ultimate guide to mhealth technology below.
What is mHealth Technology?
Mobile health technology, or mHealth, is a fast-evolving aspect of healthcare today, promising to improve and streamline care. According to a recent poll, 83 percent of physicians in the United States now utilize mobile health technology, or mHealth, to offer patient care.
Because this is such a young and evolving industry, there is no standard definition for mobile health technology or mHealth. The World Health Organization defines it as “medical and public health practice assisted by mobile devices.”
In other words, mobile health technology is the use of smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices to offer health care and preventative health services. But, beyond formal definitions and theory, where does mHealth come into play?
Health care practitioners utilize mobile health technology to obtain clinical information, coordinate with care teams, connect with patients, provide real-time patient monitoring, and deliver health care remotely, commonly known as telemedicine.
Uses of mHealth System:
Chronic Disease Management:
Chronic illness tracking and management are critical and a major source of worry in the healthcare industry. Many studies have been conducted to assess the efficacy of mHealth as a tool for improving chronic illness management through monitoring and feedback, educational opportunities, and so on.
Unlike in the past, when patients were evaluated at irregular intervals, mHealth technologies now allow for constant and frequent patient monitoring. Chronic illnesses are closely monitored online to ensure that any red flags are treated as soon as possible via electronic data interchange.
Self-Health Monitoring:
It would have been fantastic to be able to track and monitor your own health. Patients may take responsibility for monitoring their own health and relieve the burden on healthcare organizations when a healthcare mobile app is loaded with the correct tools and technology.
Multiple characteristics can be used, such as an oximeter, sugar tests, activity level measurements, and so on. This is beneficial for individuals who are unable to attend the hospital on a regular basis. They may easily examine and monitor their health and only visit the healthcare center when necessary.
Appointment Scheduling:
Many healthcare facilities demand an appointment before consultation, and having to wait in line is often a source of stress for many unwell people. However, using mHealth technology, you may now arrange or schedule your appointment from the comfort of your own home at any time that is convenient for you.
Instead of relying on the administrative staff of the healthcare organization to plan appointments, patients can do it directly using the healthcare mobile app. A sequence of automatic procedures ensures that the process runs smoothly. It is both beneficial for the patient and the administration of the healthcare center.
Medication Alerts:
Medication irregularities are frequently the cause of patient health deterioration. Not only does remembering to take medicine assist the patient, but it also helps the healthcare organization provide a better health experience for the patient.
Medicine reminders may guarantee that patients are reminded to take their prescribed medication on time through effective mHealth app development. This is especially helpful for older patients and those who have a hectic and busy daily schedule.
Advantages of mHealth Technology in Healthcare:
Better Accessibility:
Unlike traditional and inefficient telephone connectivity to physicians and healthcare organizations, mobile health technology enables patients to rapidly send secure messages, arrange appointments, and connect to clinicians 24/7 for telemedicine visits.
In fact, telemedicine is one of the fastest increasing ways patients are using mHealth apps on their mobile devices.
They like the ease of performing a provider visit on their phone or tablet, as well as the fact that they do not need to go to the physician’s office or take time off work. Most health systems are reacting to the increase in demand by providing telemedicine visits performed by network physicians as well as contracted telehealth physicians after hours and on weekends.
Improved Adherence:
When patients are discharged from the hospital or leave the clinic, it is difficult to regulate whether or not they take their medicine. Or, to be honest, if they even pick it up from the pharmacy. Poor drug adherence is a major cause of poor chronic disease treatment. It can also lead to hospital readmissions and poor outcomes.
mHealth applications and mobile technology solutions enhance this by providing patients with features like automatic medication and refill reminders, as well as instructional content, which increases the likelihood that they will take their drugs correctly. There are also dozens of applications available to assist people to remember to take their medication.
Convenient to Use:
mHealth applications are simple and comfortable to use, whether to track your health, book an appointment, or even conduct an online consultation. Many mHealth applications may link a patient with their healthcare practitioner to increase the ease and speed of interaction.
Being able to talk to a doctor or seek advice about a disease, symptoms, or medicine at any time provides a number of advantages, the most significant of which is the prospect of earlier action. If a patient has health problems but is unable to visit a doctor, they can utilize a mHealth app to communicate. The doctor could decide to act, perhaps saving the patient’s life. Improved monitoring provides broader population advantages.
High Accuracy:
mHealth technologies and apps accurately monitor and keep track of patients’ medical history and records. It keeps track of their health levels and records their medical consultations.
It helps in scheduling appointments and online consultations and accurately assesses patients by self-monitoring their health status. This technology also sets medical alerts for the patient so that they do not miss to take their medicine on time, or miss an appointment.
Reliable Communication:
Connecting with colleagues, coworkers, and patients is difficult given most doctors’ packed appointment schedules, lengthy days, and various facility coverage obligations.
Using encrypted messaging and texting, mobile health record access, and cellular phone conversations, mobile health technology increases the ability to communicate throughout the health system as well as with referring physicians and office personnel.
mHealth applications may also be used to notify providers of individuals who require medical treatment or have been admitted to the hospital. It facilitates and expedites contact between patients and health specialists or physicians through its chat areas.
Conclusion:
Health-care expenses are growing in all nations, regardless of GDP. The worldwide economic downturn has significantly reduced global government spending on health care. Many health-care expenses are avoidable if ailments are diagnosed and treated early on with an emphasis on prevention and health promotion.
Mobile health offers a solution to lower health care expenses by allowing consumers to intervene in their own health care early on and by utilizing cost-effective and already existent technologies.
The advantages of mobile health technologies continue to grow and improve. Given the prevalence of mobile devices in the US population and patient excitement for utilizing them to manage their condition and health, it is expected that these technologies will be prescribed and utilized more frequently.
As mHealth applications become more integrated into the treatment continuum, we’ll start to observe new and positive effects on health outcomes.
