Book Review: mHealth: New Horizons for Health through Mobile Technologies: Based on the Findings of the Second Global Survey on eHealth (Global Observatory for eHealth Series, Volume 3)

with more intelligent and versatile connectivity and communication capabilities. The unprecedented spread of mobile technologies as well as advancements in their innovative capacity to address health priorities has evolved into a new field of eHealth known as mHealth (mobile health). By the end of 2010, there were nearly 5.3 billion mobile phone subscriptions in the world, with over 85% of the world’s population now within range of a commercial wireless signal [1]. There are 43.5 million Koreans, and 90% of the population had a mobile phone as of the year 2007 [2]. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Observatory for eHealth defined mHealth as medical and public health practice supported by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, personal digital assistants, and other wireless devices. mHealth involves the use of and capitalization on a mobile phone’s core utility of voice and short messaging service as well as more complex functionalities and applications, including a general packet radio service, thirdand fourth-generation mobile telecommunications (i.e., 3G and 4G systems), a global positioning system, and Bluetooth technology. The WHO Global Observatory for eHealth also surveyed the status of mHealth in 114 member states in 2009. The survey documented for analysis four aspects of mHealth: the adoption of initiatives, the types of initiatives, the status of evaluations, and barriers to implementation. Fourteen categories of mHealth services were surveyed: health call centres, emergency toll-free telephone services, managing emermHealth: New Horizons for Health through Mobile Technologies: Based on the Findings of the Second Global Survey on eHealth (Global Observatory for eHealth Series, Volume 3)