One-quarter of U.S. Adults Use Their Mobile Phones for Health Information and Tools

According to a recent study from pharmaceutical and healthcare market research company Manhattan Research, 26 percent of U.S. adults have used their mobile phones for health information or tools in the past 12 months. The study, titled Cybercitizen Health U.S. 2011 study from Manhattan Research surveyed 8,745 U.S. adults (age 18 and over) online and on the phone in Q3 2011 about digital health trends. The mobile health population has more than doubled since 2010, when 12 percent of consumers conducted health activities on their mobile phones. Information-gathering, whether by searching for health information or consuming health news, remains the most common mobile health behavior. However, there has been an increase in consumers using their mobile phones to manage their care or treatment in the past year. For example, three percent of consumers used prescription drug refill or reminder services on their mobile phones in 2010, while eight percent did so in 2011.