Mobile health
Mobile Health, Who Pays?
Mobile health has enormous potential to lower the cost of health interactions all along the patient pathway, especially for chronic conditions, which require constant monitoring that is usually inconvenient and expensive, especially in times of scarce professionals.
The promise of mobile health is to achieve co-location through technology, allowing patients and health professionals to interact without the need to be in the same place. However, healthcare is an extremely conservative industry, and the pace of uptake of new technologies is very slow when compared to the mobile industry.
Health "value currency"
Mobile health applications can add value throughout prevention, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring. For example, cardiac solutions provide health "value currency" along the heart failure pathway.
Developed and developing countries
The vast majority of global health spend is incurred in the developed world and is reimbursed by healthcare payers, either governments or insurers. If mobile health is to reach its full potential, it will have to move into this complex environment.
Outside of the major established health systems, the situation varies widely from the poorest countries with only rudimentary health infrastructures, to rapidly developing markets that do not yet have mature health systems. For the poorest countries, the challenge is to provide the general population with access to basic health services. Customers of mobile health services are often non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
For wealthier countries that are seeking to build a modern health system, the opportunity is to position mobile health as an alternative to investment in a more conventional health infrastructure. In these developing systems, there is greater reliance on self-pay, and the "professionally recommended" consumer segment may emerge as an important market.
Key factors
To build a successful global mobile health business, mobile operators will need to consider six key factors:
- Building scalable solutions
- Deciding the role of the operator
- Finding the right partners
- Developing appropriate distribution and commercial models
- Building the right infrastructure
- Defining the right path
Research report
Mobile Health, Who Pays
The reseach report investigates this critical issue and defines the steps operators need to take in building a sustainable mobile health business. The research report was commissioned by the GSMA and delivered by A.T. Kearney. The report was developed through a comprehensive search of available literature and interviews with a range of operators from Europe, the United States and Asia.
Download the full report
GSMA presentation
The opportunity for mobile to address major health challenges
15 February 2011
Barcelona, Spain
Jonathan Anscombe's presentation for the GSMA conference highlights findings of the recent research report.
Media highlights
Mobile Health — How to Make It Pay
11 February 2011
Mobile health (mHealth) offerings promise to improve healthcare delivery and provide revenue for service providers — but adoption and monetizing the opportunity will require changes to the way the industry does business.
Contact
 Jonathan Anscombe, partner and lead for the firm's pharmaceutical and healthcare practice in Europe
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