Mobile Technology in Healthcare: App Types, Benefits, and Functionality

Today, the use of smartphones and mobile devices is revolutionizing the healthcare sector, giving patients greater accessibility to health information and improving their relationship with professionals, and for a mHealth app development company, for example, it is a vector of development. In the near future, we think it will have the most direct impact on us. We are talking about healthcare and the penetration of mobile technology into this sphere.

What is the essence of mHealth?

Let’s start with what mHealth is. mHealth is a wirelessly connected system consisting of smartphones, tablets, and wearable devices that help people take care of their health. However, mHealth is not synonymous with telemedicine, because it only includes mobile gadgets that monitor changes in the body. The most popular type of mobile health services is using wearable devices to monitor health and prevent illnesses. Also, mHealth is used to check the condition of patients, assist in treatment, track epidemic outbreaks, and manage chronic diseases.

The mHealth market: its division and development

Mobile health is a term that refers to the use of mobile devices and wireless technology for the purpose of medical care, as well as ensuring a healthy lifestyle for an individual. The most familiar example of mHealth technology to many is a cell phone and tablet program related to physical fitness (e.g., weight) or fitness monitoring. When we think about mHealth, however, we most often still think about its functionality from two perspectives:

  • the use of mobile technology by medical organizations to improve health care delivery
  • the use of that technology by patients to monitor their own health.

Today, mHealth is about two major areas that are developing in parallel, at different speeds, while mutually influencing each other. The first is technologies, devices, applications, and services for the treatment and care of patients, and the second is systems and devices designed for wellness and fitness monitoring. You would say that the second area has very little to do with medicine and healthcare, and you would be right, but mHealth is gradually converging or, rather, merging these areas. Therefore, it would be more correct to talk not about health care or medicine, but about ensuring human health in all senses through the use of mobile and non-mobile technologies.

Apps for healthcare professionals and patients

Thanks to apps, we can turn our smartphone into what we want it to be. From a personal trainer to a sleep monitor to a diagnostician. In healthcare, there are many apps for both medical professionals and patients. Wearable technology has also helped monitor our health and fitness. It uses smart clothing and accessories such as watches, bracelets, or glasses.

Mobile health care: the benefits and use of technology in medicine

The use of technology in medicine brings great benefits. The benefits that can be derived from medical practices managed through mobile devices are obvious to patients and medical professionals alike. These benefits depend largely on the tasks, procedures, and medical activities of each center or medical professional. Among the benefits of technology in medicine are worth mentioning:

  • Access additional information quickly and easily, making every medical visit efficient.
  • It allows the doctor to remotely monitor the evolution of each patient, as well as chronic pathologies, to have more control and knowledge about their patients.
  • Medical apps are significant support in the treatment of various ailments and unquestionable sources of information.
  • It facilitates online consultations and the delivery of electronic prescriptions.

It is clear that it is increasingly necessary to gain the skills to master the use of new technologies in health care. Therefore, if you are studying or studying to become a healthcare professional, advancing your specialization in e-health will bring you significant advantages in your professional progress.

The functionality of mHealth solutions

When we talk about mobile health, we are talking about a sector that is in full growth because of the high use of mobile devices in society, as they offer greater accessibility, portability, maneuverability and ease of use than other technological devices. This fact, related to the healthcare sector, provides an opportunity to innovate and increase efficiency, as well as reduce costs and improve the quality of care.

  • Monitoring, control and self-monitoring. More and more, we are using our cell phones to manage any type of health-related information. For example, we can use our cell phones to record all of our diabetes control items.
  • Diagnostics and calculations. By entering our medical data, we can calculate and direct our diagnosis.
  • Training for patients, caregivers, and health care providers. A community can be created to share knowledge.
  • Resolve doubts or inquiries.
  • Improve adherence to treatment.
  • Allow synchronization with medical gadgets.
  • Create communication and telemedicine tools.

There are many applications on the market. In healthcare, depending on the public that uses apps, we can find two types:

  • Professional-oriented apps: training tools, consultations, and basic services such as calculators, alerts… Healthcare professionals are committed to using apps to improve the quality of care by monitoring patients and improving communication, as well as being able to access information and training tools immediately.
  • Patient-centered apps: tools to help self-manage chronic conditions, for periodic medication administration, scheduling doctor’s appointments, etc.

The growing sector

As we mentioned before, mHealth is a young, fast-growing sector and a mHealth app development company like Empeek is successfully developing and building its products in it.

The success achieved in recent years by various mHeath projects shows that this sector is in full growth and, more importantly, that it can offer many opportunities to innovate in healthcare, increase efficiency, improve the quality of care or reduce healthcare costs.

In this sense, apps have been uncovered as a powerful tool to promote healthy lifestyle habits, early disease detection, prevention or patient empowerment, in addition to chronic disease monitoring.

According to the IMS Health Institute, 70% of the apps on the market target the general public through the wellness and exercise segments. The rest are aimed at the health care sector. They are mainly used as information channels (39.8%), to transmit instructions for use (21.4%) or record user data (18.7%), on issues related to nutrition, physical activity or addiction control, among others.

And based on these statistics we can conclude that this superyacht has an impressive future ahead of it and is worth keeping an eye on.

https://www.ilounge.com/articles/mobile-technology-in-healthcare-app-types-benefits-and-functionality

Steve Liem

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