If you’ve been to a doctor’s office in the last decade, you know the process is bogged down with wait times and overwhelmed staff members. This molasses machine of a system leads to inefficiency and exhausted patients. In enters mobile applications—the future of healthcare. Technology is constantly growing in all facets of our life. In healthcare, applications are expanding significantly to improve the lives of patients and providers. With mobile technology, we can find new and exciting opportunities to become more efficient while improving patient safety and experience. 

Project and IT managers in healthcare will want to jump on the bandwagon sooner rather than later. Reports from Market.us Scoop show that 3 in 10 adults already have at least one Mobile Health application (mobile technology in healthcare) on their smartphone. With smartphone usage increasing worldwide and the transition to a remote lifestyle growing, this number will only continue to rise. Grandview research found that the global Mobile Health apps market size was $32.42 billion in 2023 and anticipates growth at a CAGR of 14.9% from 2024 to 2030. 

Key benefits of Mobile Applications on patient experience and care.

On-Demand Convenience & Accessibility

Mobile Health, gives patients the power to view their medical information at any time and from anywhere. Mobile apps allow patients to review test results, schedule appointments, review provider notes, treatment options, general wellness tips, and other up-to-date info. Gone are the days of waiting all week for your physician to call with your results or spending days trying to get a hold of the office for your prescription. 

Improved Patient Engagement & Personalized Care: 

Mobile Apps can engage patients through features like reminders for medication, appointments, and health goals, promoting proactive healthcare management and adherence to treatment plans. Many healthcare apps focus on health management, allowing users to track and record health metrics, such as heart rate, blood pressure, exercise, and sleep patterns. Some even connect with wearable devices for real-time health tracking. These are becoming increasingly popular for the management of diabetes and other illnesses and can improve the quality of life of these patients. Application data can offer physicians a better understanding of the patient's health trends. Getting daily blood pressure data, for example, can indicate the need for changes in medications or an additional health concern. This access can ultimately lead to safer, healthier patients with more health autonomy. 

Patient Empowerment & Health Education.

Apps empower patients with knowledge allowing them to advocate for themselves and their healthcare needs. With access to their health information anytime anywhere, patients can better manage their own healthcare needs. They can find new test results, appointment times, messages from physicians, and more all in their patient portal. With InApp education, mobile apps can also share updates on new treatments and tips for the management of chronic health issues. All of these features increase awareness among users and eventually patients as a whole. Granting the patients this knowledge and autonomy also helps providers by saving them time. Rather than having to go over test results with every patient, spend time checking them in the in-office, and explaining simple information to the patient, this can all be delivered through the mobile app. That valuable time saved can be spent actually helping patients and even increasing the number that can be seen in a given time. 

Mobile Features Patients & Providers Love.

Scheduling Management & Provider Communications

Giving patients the power to take care of their own scheduling, check-in online, and submit prescription requests removes friction and makes the process more efficient. Healthcare staff are met with immense amounts of paperwork, scheduling, patient outreach, and other duties that cause the system to move at a snail's pace. Putting the patient in the driver's seat is a win-win.

Provider Search Tools

Using a provider search tool, patients can easily search for new providers within their healthcare system as well. All of these things can be done from a patient portal in mobile health applications. Giving patients easy access to their information helps them make informed decisions about their healthcare. 

Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)

Mobile apps play a significant role in remote patient monitoring (RPM). RPM is especially beneficial for patients with serious chronic conditions, like diabetes or heart disease. Like traditional health management apps, patients can use mobile apps to record and transmit their data to healthcare providers immediately. If there is anything of concern, healthcare providers can intervene ASAP, potentially preventing serious complications or worse.

Clinical Trials  

Clinical trials are essentially experiments that test new treatments and prevention methods on human participants to see if they are safe and effective. Clinical trials have begun using mobile apps for remote data collection. Mobile apps also make it easier to get in touch with patients to recruit and retain them. By doing this, mobile health decreases the time a clinical trial takes. In doing so, they can reach the next steps sooner and improve the patient experience.

Medication Reminders

Almost everyone has forgotten to take their medication on time. Be it cold medicine, birth control, or medication for a chronic condition, humans are not perfect and are prone to forgetfulness. Mobile apps can help remedy this by reminding patients to take their medication and refill prescriptions. Some apps can provide information about potential side effects and drug interactions, adding an extra layer of safety. Apps can also allow patients to message providers any questions they have about medications or these potential side effects. 

Virtual Appointments

Telehealth is growing more and more popular in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has increased even more with the growth of remote work. With mobile, patients can schedule appointments, engage in video consultations, and receive prescriptions at their leisure. This is more convenient for patients with unusual work hours or busy schedules. Not only that, telehealth allows physicians to reach areas without access to many healthcare providers or services. In the long run, mobile apps will improve the health of communities overall rather than just local communities with in-person medical resources. 

What’s Next?

Artificial Intelligence

While AI will likely never replace human doctors, should trends continue, artificial intelligence and machine learning may go on to play a significant role in developing apps that can predict health issues and provide personalized health tips. Some AI health services are already available.

Healthcare Wearables 

Wearable medical devices are becoming more and more sophisticated. These devices are pairing with mobile applications to give patients and physicians a greater understanding of the patient’s day-to-day condition. With all of the patients that physicians need to see, it can be difficult to give personal care to each patient. The data received from these applications can allow physicians to provide more effective and personalized care to each of their patients. 

Predictive Machine Learning

Mobile health applications can also possess predictive features that can offer physicians greater insight into a patient's outcome. These applications can help prevent cardiac events, diabetic shock, and more. Diabetic monitoring devices are becoming increasingly popular. The utility of these devices means that they are only expected to grow in popularity

Ready to take the plunge into Mobile Health Technology?

Soon Mobile Health will be the norm rather than the exception. Mobile health is something you can feel good about getting behind. Mobile Health will improve patient outcomes and advocacy by equipping them with the tools they need to make informed healthcare decisions. Parents will find this useful as well, as they will be able to gain new insights into the health of their children during a time in which they may feel confused or lost. Physicians will save time and energy by utilizing the organizational and operational features of mobile health applications. This can lead to clearer decision-making and the ability to serve more patients effectively. Ultimately, more patients will have access to healthcare making a positive impact on society in the long term. 

As technology continues to intertwine with our daily lives, we can expect health-related apps to grow in number and sophistication. Healthcare companies will need to get on board to meet the demands of consumers and remain competitive in the industry.  This industry will continue to evolve and expand quickly over the next few years. Project and IT Managers will want to keep tabs on this growth and consider exploring and investing in mobile health technologies. One thing is for certain, mobile health is here to stay and set us on a course to greater outcomes. 

Looking to build a mobile health application but unsure where to start? Camber Creative can help! Our experts have experience creating exciting healthcare solutions and would love to help bring your vision to life.