Report: global mHealth apps market to reach $4.1 billion by 2014

The global mobile health applications market is expected to reach $4.1 billion by 2014 compared to $1.7 billion in 2010, according to a report published by research company Technavio.

The company's analysts said they expect the market to grow by an impressive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24% percent until 2014.

The report indicates that the key drivers for growth are the increase in general diseases and population of patients.  It adds that the main source of revenue in this field will comes from smartphones used by the healthcare professionals.

Technavio estimates that the United States has the largest market share and is expected to grow at a faster rate in the future. The authors said that in the coming years, due to increasing focus on patients in developing nations, mobile Health software providers and telecom companies may penetrate further in countries such as China and India.

The analysts noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) intends to come up with proper rules for the approval of mobile health applications. This will, in turn, increase the productivity and the accuracy of these apps in the future.

At the same time, the analysts warned that there have not been proper or effective FDA rules and regulations yet. "FDA regulations seem to be more confusing than helpful to many vendors in the mHealth industry," Technavio wrote. "With the advent of numerous new Mobile Health applications being introduced in the market by various players, the FDA is finding it difficult to come up with any specific parameters for the Mobile Health applications".

Growing number of medical experts move into mHealth apps field

Growing interest in mobile health applications has led to a sharp increase in the number of mHealth apps developed by universities, hospitals and other research institutes.

These organizations want to seize opportunities arising from widely circulating suggestions that the healthcare industry is facing a possible crisis. A report published last year by Pyramid Research indicates there is a global deficit of 2.4 million healthcare workers and an international shortage of hospital beds worldwide. This is leading to a situation in which governments, healthcare providers and insurance carriers are desperate to develop solutions that lower costs and improve patient care.

CATRA: Cataract Maps with Snap-on
Eyepiece for Mobile Phones

Unlike other consumer applications, developing medical apps requires a strong scientific background. The telemedicine field attracts researchers as it offers them an opportunity to utilize their medical knowledge to enter one of the fastest growing and most popular markets.

“In the past, most projects offered by academic researchers remained on the drawing board and most of them never materialized into commercial products,” said Ofer Atzmon, Vice President for Business Development and Marketing at Aerotel Medical Systems.

“It remains to be seen if the growing popularity of mHealth will change this trend, and whether more scientific research projects will turn into commercial applications.”

Pyramid Research predicts that the mHealth technologies market will approach $5 billion by 2014 and more than double by 2020.

Here are several examples of applications and other mHealth solutions developed by researchers from the academic world.

DailyData - a mobile app that can tell users when they’re getting sick, based on models and predictions developed in MIT.

CATRA – a solution to detect and quantify cataracts with a compact eyepiece attached to a cell phone, also developed by MIT researchers.

Open mHealth – a project dedicated to apps that collect health-related information developed at UCLA and UCSF.

iTrem – an application allowing Parkinson’s disease patients to collect and send medical information developed by researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute.

Nerve Whiz – an app for medical professionals interested in learning the anatomy of nerve roots, plexuses and peripheral nerves, designed by a neuromuscular neurologist at the University of Michigan.

If you know of any other applications that were developed by researchers please tell us about it in the comment box and we will update the post.

Report: Telemedicine companies should explore granting free trial period

A brief use of a Web-based telemedicine service has a significant positive effect on patients' perceptions of the service, according to a survey conducted by a team of Dutch experts.

The researchers, from the University of Twente, concluded that healthcare providers should consider offering patients a risk-free way to explore and experiment telemedicine services. They said that by doing so telemedicine companies can increase the development of accurate perceptions and user needs.  

The survey focused on investigating whether patients' perceptions of Web-based telemedicine services changed after brief use. The research included 30 patients, who were divided into a control group and an experimental group. The results indicated that patients within the experimental group became significantly more positive about the usefulness and ease-of-use after a very short period of use. 

The report indicates that despite the great potential of telemedicine user acceptance proves one important barrier to implementation in mainstream healthcare. 

"These results show the significant positive effect of brief use of a telemedicine service on patients' perceptions of this service," The authors concluded. "Therefore, it is important to offer patients the opportunity to experiment with the service to foster the development of accurate beliefs, which will consequently result in more adequate user needs possibly benefiting patient acceptance." 

FDA presents new mobile medical app draft regulations

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) outlined new draft guidelines, suggesting how it intends to regulate mobile medical applications.

Source: FDA

The FDA announced that it seeks public input on the proposed approach for certain medicine and health mobile applications. The agency said that currently, mobile medical apps include a variety of functions, ranging from monitoring calorie intake, helping people maintain a healthy weight, and allowing doctors to view a patient’s radiology images on their mobile communications device. 

The FDA's draft guidance defines a small subset of mobile medical apps that may impact the performance or functionality of currently regulated medical devices including apps that:

• Are used as an accessory to medical device already regulated by the FDA
• Transform a mobile communications device into a regulated medical device by using attachments, sensors or other devices

"The use of mobile medical apps on smart phones and tablets is revolutionizing health care delivery," said Jeffrey Shuren, M.D., J.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. "Our draft approach calls for oversight of only those mobile medical apps that present the greatest risk to patients when they don’t work as intended."

We at Aerotel welcome FDA regulation of mobile medical apps. We believe that there is a real need to assure the stability, reliability and quality of all mHealth solutions so patients won't face any risk. 

Aerotel wins 2011 Connected World award for home health devices

Aerotel Medical Systems was awarded by Connected World Magazine the prestigious gold Value Chain Award in the home health category.

Aerotel received the award together for the company's e-CliniQ system and the Connect-CELL telehealth homecare hub. The company was nominated together with its partner Cinterion, the global leader in cellular machine-to-machine (M2M) communication and a Gemalto company.

Connected World Magazine’s Value Chain Awards honor the most successful corporate adopters of M2M technology and the solution providers that make their success possible.

“Aerotel and its partner Cinterion were honored for using M2M technology to enhance quality of life for patients with chronic conditions by increasing access to doctors and care givers,” said Peggy Smedley, editorial director and publisher of Connected World. “Connect-CELL helps cut costs while improving quality of care and it also highlights the transformative power of M2M technology in solving global healthcare challenges.”  

"The Connect-CELL hub is part of Aerotel's e-CliniQ system, which is one of the most cost-effective home telehealth solutions available today with proven clinical and economical benefits,” said Ofer Atzmon, Aerotel Medical Systems vice president for business development and marketing. "With Connect-CELL, caregivers can remotely see when a patient is in trouble and respond immediately for increased peace of mind and convenience.”

“Aerotel’s Connect-CELL homecare hub uses the latest Cinterion M2M technology to address the urgent need for solutions that reduce spending while improving quality of service for the growing ageing population,” commented Norbert Muhrer, CEO of Cinterion. “The use of Connect-CELL has already proven to reduce hospitalization costs by up to 30 percent.”

IBM: health device makers need to focus on Information Seekers

Health device makers should start paying more attention to the overlooked market segment of consumers who are relatively healthy, but could use some help managing a health-related challenge, according to new research published by IBM.  

The report - titled "The future of connected health devices" - calls this consumer segment "Information Seekers". These consumers are looking for solutions that can provide missing information to help them gain greater control over their conditions and ultimately lead healthier, more independent lives.

The authors noted that, to date, health device makers have primarilytargeted their products and services for consumers who are extremely health or fitness conscious as well as those who need to be regularly monitored.

"Between these two extremes sits a large, fragmented and often overlooked population who seek better information to effectively manage their health," the report authors Heather Fraser, YangJin Kwon and Margaret Neuer stated. "Our research suggests that successful solution providers will approach this market opportunity as an ecosystem of partners – with an integrated solution that extends beyond the device itself".

They added that thanks to recent technological advances and increased willingness to collaborate among industries, it is now feasible to deliver solutions that meet the needs of information seekers and help reduce long-term healthcare costs. 

The report noted that health device makers now have the means to target Information Seekers and should focus on the following principles:

• Make it easy - consumers need simple, intuitive, yet feature-rich devices and online tools that are designed for their specific needs.
• Design the solution with the end result in mind - solutions should involve integration with healthcare providers, payers and even peer support networks. 
• Pick a position and partner well – since it is unlikely any single firm will be able to offer a full solution companies can determine, by evaluating competitive strengths and weaknesses, what they can profitably do on their own and where they will need partners. 
• Help set the rules - device makers should get actively involved in establishing standards for connected health devices.

"Super Mobile" doctors represent new type of professional mHealth user

A new generation of physicians is enthusiastically embracing mobile technology, according to a study conducted among some 3,800 doctors by QuantiaMD, the largest mobile and online physician community.

The survey indicates that a growing number of physicians use smartphones and the usage of tablets is rapidly increasing. 

"A significant group of 'Super Mobile' doctors now use both devices, and they are far more likely to use mobile technology in clinical settings to access decision tools, learn about new treatments, look up reference material, and handle patient information,"  Mary Modahl, Chief Marketing Officer, QuantiaMD concluded.

"The growing trend of mobile technology adoption illustrates the great potential of mHealth systems," said Ofer Atzmon, VP Business Development at Aerotel Medical Systems. "As the usage of mobile technologies among physicians increases, they are likely to show much more interest in adopting advanced mHealth technologies to improve the medical service. This will benefit both patients and caregivers."  

Some of the study key findings indicated that: 

• Physicians are adopting mobile technology at a very high rate. 
• Physicians’ strong interest in tablet devices indicates this technology will soon command the physician market. 
• “Super Mobile” physicians who own both smartphones and tablets are accessing online resources at significantly higher rates across a broad range of core professional activities. 
• Health care institutions are beginning to adopt mobile technology for their physicians and show strong interest in moving forward. 
• Access to electronic medical record (EMR) data tops the physician wish-list for how they want to use mobile technology.