Mobile Health (mHealth)
What is mobile health (mHealth)?
Mobile health (mHealth) is a general term encompassing all wireless technology used in medical care. Most often, mHealth utilizes mobile phones to educate consumers on preventive healthcare services, although it may also work through tablets and wearable medical devices.
Some uses for mHealth include:
- Treatment support
- Disease surveillance
- chronic disease management
- Epidemic outbreak tracking
Why is mHealth important for healthcare?
mHealth is becoming increasingly popular in underserved areas with widespread mobile phone use because it allows individuals in these populations to receive medical care conveniently.
mHealth also helps bridge the healthcare gap by allowing patients to meet with a doctor or care team without having to be there in person. This increasing use of telehealth visits will enable individuals to meet with physicians outside their geographical location or despite difficulties in arranging travel to a clinic.
mHealth also improves healthcare through the use of wearables, which can transmit data such as glucose levels and blood pressure directly to physicians, allowing physicians to gain a better view of the patient’s daily life and create a more individualized treatment based on these varying values.