Report: 3 million people to use smartphone-powered remote care by 2016
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| Source: Z. J. Smith, K. Chu, A. R. Espenson, M. Rahimzadeh, A. Gryshuk, M. Molinaro, D. M. Dwyre, S. Lane, D. Matthews, S. Wachsmann-Hogiu. |
The report found that the monitoring of cardiac outpatients is currently leading the field, with the management of diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other chronic diseases to soon play an important role in the remote patient monitoring market.
"Remote patient monitoring will step in to reduce the cost burden of unhealthy lifestyles and aging populations," said report author Anthony Cox. The report called for more trials to prove the benefits of remote patient monitoring.
The report also predicted that:
- 44 million mobile health applications will be downloaded this year, with an increase to 142 million by 2016;
- EHRs will become an important component of mobile health offerings;
- Increased use of smartphones for remote patient monitoring will lower costs by reducing the need for expensive dedicated medical devices; and
- Further guidance from FDA on the regulation of mobile health apps will spur their use.
Beth Walsh, Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.