According to a recent research report from Deloitte, over the next 10 years, mobile health (mHealth) devices will save the healthcare industry $305 billion in increased productivity due to "reduced travel time, better logistics, faster decision-making, and improved communications." Remote home monitoring, authors of the report say, will save the industry nearly $205 billion in the same time period.
The report, mHealth in an mWorld: How mobile technology is transforming health care, looks at what is driving mHealth adoption and where there are additional opportunities. All in all, the researchers say that after a slow start, mHealth is becoming increasingly adopted and accepted as a way to manage and target chronic conditions, capture patient data, and share patient records, among other things.
“mHealth technologies are a valuable partner in healthcare’s shift towards a delivery model that is patient-centered and value-based,” authors of the report say.
The report says it will be important for the industry to monetize mHealth, as it says there is scant evidence of successful business models thus far. Other challenges the industry faces are privacy and integration with traditional medical devices.
Overall, though, Deloitte researchers say an “integrated mobile strategy should be a key component of growth strategies for providers, health plans and biopharma and med-device companies.”
This isn’t the first study that has looked at the positive implications of mHealth. In December, HIMSS Analytics found that roughly 66 percent of health IT leaders responding to a survey say mobile technology would substantially or dramatically change the future of patient care delivery.
