What is mHealth?

What do we mean when we use the term mHealth and what is a ‘mHealth app’?

Many of you will have started to hear the term mHealth being used more frequently, the EU even recently published a Green Paper on mHealth, but as with most jargon unless you are directly involved in the sector responsible for dreaming up these new buzzwords, chances are could find yourself sat in a meeting thinking what on earth is that person talking about when you hear the phrase:

“You need to develop an integrated mHealth strategy and build a suite of native mHealth apps for both iOS and Android platforms”

Here is the Wikipedia definition:

mHealth (also written as m-health) is an abbreviation for mobile health, a term used for the practice of medicine and public health supported by mobile devices. The term is most commonly used in reference to using mobile communication devices, such as mobile phones, tablet computers and PDAs, for health services and information, but also to affect emotional states. The mHealth field has emerged as a sub-segment of eHealth, the use of information and communication technology (ICT), such as computers, mobile phones, communications satellite, patient monitors, etc., for health services and information. mHealth applications include the use of mobile devices in collecting community and clinical health data, delivery of healthcare information to practitioners, researchers, and patients, real-time monitoring of patient vital signs, and direct provision of care (via mobile telemedicine).

In the EU Green Paper they define mHealth as:

Mobile health (mHealth) covers “medical and public health practice supported by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other devise. It also includes applications (apps) such as lifestyle and wellbeing apps that may connect to medical devices or sensors (e.g. bracelets or watches) as well as personal guidance systems, health information and medication reminders provided by SMS and telemedicine provided wirelessly.

Useful mHealth/health app resources

Apart from our own resources collating mHealth statistics, events and news stories, there are some great blogs and websites that cover the topics of mHealth.

Here are our top five:

1. iMedical apps – http://www.imedicalapps.com/
2. mHealth professional – http://paper.li/mhealthpro
3. Mobile Health News – http://mobihealthnews.com/
4. mHealth Alliance – http://mhealthalliance.org/media-a-resources
5. mHealth News – http://www.mhealthnews.com/

You can also search for and read tweets that have been posted to the following hashtags: #mHealth; #healthcareapps; #HCApps