The Journal of mHealth Vol 1 Issue 1 (Feb 2014) | Page 30

EPHA Briefing on Mobile Health
Continued from page 27

get squeezes and workforce shortages, coupled with ageing populations and the simultaneous rise in
chronic diseases. In the absence of
political prioritisation, the public
sector is forced to save healthcare
costs while trying to cater to an
increasingly diverse clientele demanding quality services. Hence
policy makers are looking to foster
innovation and efficiency in healthcare delivery.
Many patients and older people
also wish to be more engaged in
their own care. In order to take advantage of personalised treatment
regimes they require information
and state-of-the-art technology.
In this regard, mHealth can offer
customised ‘toolkits’ for predictive,
participatory and preventive care.
While arguably, Europeans are
becoming more informed about
health thanks to online information, individual circumstances regarding access to technology, as
well as competences regarding ICT
use and applying health knowledge, still differ greatly between
social groups, regions and Member
States. About a quarter of Europeans have never used the Internet [9],
and there are significant differences between Member States when it
comes to computer access at home
and on mobile devices [10]. Those
who use eHealth regularly, confidently and efficiently can be more
aware of the treatment options,
medicines and medical devices [11]
available to them. In stark contrast,
most people struggle with various
literacy problems, and lack of support and empowerment can lead to
misunderstandings when putting
online information into con-

28
February 2014

text, and to inaccuracies when apers by text for ensuring treatment
plying it to health decision-making.
compliance (e.g., patients receiving
For example, self-diagnosis and
SMS messages about the correct
treatment based on data derived
time and way of taking a medicine)
from mobile technologies can be
and keeping medical appointments,
harmful if findings are not disis one of the strengths of mHealth.
cussed with qualified health proAt the same time, sophisticated
fessionals. The challenge is to find
technologies merging the intricate
the right balance between convenfeatures of eHealth and medical
tional and ICT-enabled healthdevices provide the backbone for
care that can support the work of
functions involving real-time rehealth professionals while
mote monitoring and transfer
empowering patients
of patient data in outpaand expanding
tient settings, e.g. for
Remote
their (e)health
managing chronic
literacy.
diseases. A conaccess to
nected function
centralised
That said,
concerns supthe founporting health
EHRs can reduce
dations for
informaadministrative
the digitaltion systems
isation of
and providing
burdens by 20 to
healthcare
point-of-care
30%
are
already
support. Morewell in place –
over, broader aims
electronic health
in support of public
records (EHR) and
health management, e.g.
wireless communication and redata collection and disease surveilporting devices are commonplace
lance to control pandemics, can be
in many EU Member States. While
achieved.
health professionals may not always easily embrace new technolSome specific examples (including
ogy, they share the hope of many
wireless health and electronic care
patients that it can make routine
solutions) include the following,
tasks easier.
which testify to the increased convergence of health technologies
mHealth Applications
and tools [12]:
Currently mHealth can fulfil a
number of different functions,
many of which have been implemented in the developing world
where mobile phones are fundamental due to the absence of conventional health system technologies.

»

Medical devices acting as remote patient monitors – used in
clinical, home, mobile & other
environments

»

Software applications allowing
patients to upload or download
health information at any time

Indeed the ability to perform simple tasks, such as sending remind-

»

Clinical body area network sensors for wireless capture and