Mobile healthcare

Mobile technology's presence in healthcare has exploded over the past five years. The increased use of mobile devices by all segments of the US population has driven healthcare systems, providers, and payers to accept this new form of communication and to develop strategies to implement and leverage the use of mobile healthcare (mHealth) within their organizations and practices. As healthcare systems move toward a more value-driven model of care, patient centeredness and engagement are the keys to success. Mobile healthcare will provide the medium to allow patients to participate more in their care. Financially, mHealth brings to providers the ability to improve efficiency and deliver savings to both them and the healthcare consumer. However, mHealth is not without challenges. Healthcare IT departments have been reluctant to embrace this shift in technology without fully addressing security and privacy concerns. Providers have been hesitant to adopt mHealth as a form of communication with patients because it breaks with traditional models. Our healthcare system has just started the journey toward the development of mHealth. We offer an overview of the mobile healthcare environment and our approach to solving the challenges it brings to healthcare organizations.