Research
Three in Ten Americans Would Use Their Cell Phone to Track Personal Health
By
Sep 8, 2010 - 12:47:50 PM

40 Percent Would Pay for Remote Monitoring Device to Send Health Information Electronically to Their Doctor

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - SAN DIEGO, Sept. 8 -- Three in ten Americans recently surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute said they would use their cell or smart phone to track and monitor their personal health, and 40 percent would be willing to pay for a remote monitoring device that sends health information directly to their doctor. Their interest reflects the nascent but fast-growing market for remote and mobile health and significant business opportunities for organizations using consumer technologies to support preventative, acute and chronic care.

The findings of the survey and new report entitled Healthcare Unwired were presented today by PricewaterhouseCoopers at the mHealth Initiative 2nd International mHealth Conference in San Diego. According to the report, wireless technology, remote monitoring and mobile devices are changing the nature of healthcare, making it possible to deliver care anywhere in ways that are proving to reduce healthcare costs and keep people healthier.

PricewaterhouseCoopers' research includes a nationwide survey of 2,000 consumers and 1,000 physicians regarding their use and preferences for remote and mobile health services and devices. The survey found:

-- Thirty-one percent of consumers said they would be willing to
incorporate an application into their existing cell phone or smart
phone to be able track and monitor their personal health information.
-- Forty percent of consumers said they would be willing to pay for a
device and a monthly subscription fee for a mobile phone application
that would send text and e-mail reminders to take their medications,
refill prescriptions or to access their medical records and track
their health. Twenty-seven percent of consumers said they would find
medication reminders sent via text to be helpful, and men are twice as
likely as women to say they would use a mobile device for
health-related reminders.
-- Forty percent of consumers would also be willing to pay for a remote
monitoring device and a monthly subscription that would send data
automatically to their doctor health information such as heart rate,
blood pressure, blood sugar and weight.
-- PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute estimates the annual
consumer market for remote/mobile monitoring devices and services to
be $7.7 billion to $43 billion, based on the range consumers said they
would be willing to pay.
-- Fifty-six percent of consumers say they like the idea of remote
healthcare, and 41 percent would prefer to have more of their care
delivered via a mobile device.
-- Physicians agree that patient compliance with doctor recommendations
is a major obstacle to managing health outcomes, and 88 percent of
physicians said they would like their patients to be able to track
and/or monitor their health at home, particularly their weight, blood
sugar levels and vital signs.
-- Fifty-seven percent of physicians said they would like to use remote
devices to monitor the patients outside of the hospital. Physicians,
however, want to see filtered information or exceptions in their
patient's health, not all the data all the time. Too much information
could actually slow down care.

"Remote and mobile technology is making it possible to move healthcare delivery outside the traditional settings of physician offices and hospitals to wherever patients are. It's bringing back the concept of doctors making house calls," said Daniel Garrett, leader of the health information technology practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers. "New consumer-oriented business models and technologies are emerging. Companies that will be well positioned competitively are those than can integrate mobile health into healthcare delivery and create value in the health system by helping doctors and their patients better manage health and wellness through mass personalization."

The PricewaterhouseCoopers report outlines three emerging business models for companies looking to capitalize on mobile health, including: Development of consumer products and services; operational and clinical support, and infrastructure that focuses on security, speed and integration of information.

Much of the momentum behind mobile health to date has been from companies outside traditional healthcare, such as technology and telecommunications companies looking to expand their footprint in the health industries, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Yet when asked who they would prefer to receive mobile health services from, consumers ranked their healthcare provider, hospital or health system as Number One, followed by their health insurer.

"There are significant opportunities for physicians, hospitals, health insurers, pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers to market and differentiate themselves using mobile health," added Garrett. "Yet many healthcare organizations are largely ignoring the opportunity to integrate mobile health into other IT efforts such as the implementation of electronic health records." PricewaterhouseCoopers research found:

-- Nearly two-thirds (63%) of physicians surveyed said they are using
personal devices for mobile health solutions that aren't connected to
their practice or hospital IT systems, and 30 percent said their
hospital or practice leaders will not support the use of mobile health
devices.
-- Of those physicians who are using mobile devices in their practice, 56
percent said the devices expedite decision making and nearly 40
percent said the use of mobile devices decreases time spent on
administration.
-- The top challenge physicians said they face in their practice is
accessing information where and when it is needed. One-third of
physicians surveyed said they currently make decisions based on
incomplete information for seven out of ten patients they see. Only
half of physicians surveyed currently access electronic medical
records while visiting and treating their patients, a situation that
will improve with meaningful use requirements for physicians to use
interoperable electronic medical records. Physicians agreed that the
greatest benefit of mobile health would be to help them make decisions
faster by accessing more accurate data in real time.
-- The second biggest challenge for physicians is they don't have time to
interact with patients as much as they would like. Forty-five percent
of physicians said that Internet visits would expand access to
patients.
-- Forty percent of physicians said they could reduce the number of
office visits by 11 to 30 percent by using mobile health technologies
like remote monitoring, email or text messaging with patients. Such
shifts could address the shortage of physicians, reduce hospital
readmission costs and increase access for patients who delay care
because they don't want to wait for an appointment.

One of the barriers to more rapid adoption of mobile health may be that in-person consultation is still the main basis of reimbursement in healthcare. Public payers and private health insurers, who are primarily responsible for paying for healthcare, have generally not pushed for adoption of mobile health, says PricewaterhouseCoopers. Nor has the healthcare industry figured out a way to pay for electronic transactions in the way other industries have, such as for music and video downloads. This is changing. A number of health plans are beginning to pay for remote monitoring devices to help reduce hospital readmission costs. Some physicians are now getting limited reimbursement for phone consultations, email consults, tele-health and texting. And nearly half (49%) of consumers surveyed said they would be willing to pay out-of-pocket for electronic consultation with their physicians such as through the Internet, e-mail or text messaging.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, infrastructure in the health system also needs to be addressed. Hospital IT networks are struggling under the need for more bandwidth to support rapidly expanding data transactions and exchanges with the growth of mobile health and electronic medical records.

A full copy of PricewaterhouseCoopers' Healthcare Unwired report and survey highlights are available for free download at http://www.pwc.com/us/mhealth.

Web Site: http://www.pwc.com/

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