Consumer demand will propel mHealth technology innovation with strong and stable adoption tied to providing convenience to users and providers, says Harry Greenspun, senior advisor at Deloitte's Center for Health Solutions, in an interview with mHealth News.
The biggest hurdles, notes Greenspun, a former White House advisor on healthcare IT, chairman of the HIMSS Government Relations Roundtable and member of the new HIMSS mHealth Community, are a lack of standard and interoperability.
"Expectations of what healthcare should provide will continue to rise as other industries demonstrate how mobile technology improves their experience," he tells mHealth News. "So many tools are being introduced into the consumer space without evidence to support their claims. mHealth can be a tremendous enabler of better quality, safety, value and convenience. Conversely, it can join the realm of the nutritional supplement."
Greenspun's comments come on the heels of a recent Deloitte report identifying the four critical dimensions (people, places, payment and purpose) necessary for mHealth to attain its full potential.
"The key to the four dimensions is to be sure all are considered, which is associated with greater success and return on investment," Greenspun, senior adviser for Deloitte, told FierceMobileHealthcare at the time. "Typically, when mHealth programs fail, it is often the result of one of the dimensions being overlooked."
Greenspun believes the mHealth sector is undergoing a real turning point, and in an interview with Federal News Radio, stated that the focus must be on solution-based strategies.
"There is opportunity to expand the notion of primary care," Greenspun told Federal News Radio.
In the mHealth News report Greenspun says he expects secure messaging and simple telehealth program to be commonplace in healthcare by 2019 as the technologies offer the best return-on-investment.
On the horizon are tools and devices that tap into data provided by users through wearables and other "smart" devices and apps that monitor consumer health.
"We are still scratching the surface on the value of patient-reported data. The innovation that will make it worthwhile is applied analytics to help individuals and providers makes sense out of it and generate a plan of action," he told mHealth News.
To learn more:
- read the mHealth News report
Related Links:
What are the four dimensions critical to effective mHealth?
Hurdles await adoption and innovation of mHealth
Experts: Holy Grail ahead in mHealth but hurdles remain