MHealth

The Apple iPhone 4

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Introduction

see also eHealth, iPad and iPhone4

mHealth - m-health or mobile health - is a term used to describe the practice of medical and public health using mobile devices. It also refers to the use of mobiles such as smartphones and iPads in the provision of health services and health information management. Incidentally, mHealth is really a part of the umbrella term eHealth - which is the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as computers, mobile phones, patient monitors, etc in the delivery of health care. 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).

mHealth has emerged as a potential solution for developing countries to access the web due to the high use and rise of mobile phone use in low-income nations. The field emerges as a way of providing web access to larger groups of people in developing countries, as well as improving the capacity of health systems in such countries to provide higher quality care.

Within mHealth, many projects have a number of objectives such as increased access to healthcare and health-related information; improved ability to diagnose and track diseases; timelier public health information; and access to ongoing medical education and training for health workers. Some of the applications include 1) Education and awareness; 2) Helpline; 3) Diagnostic and treatment support; 4) Communication and training for healthcare workers; 5) Disease and epidemic outbreak tracking; 6) Remote monitoring and data collection.