A Risk-Based Classification of Mobile Applications in Healthcare

Mobile devices and applications are becoming popular in today’s society. The number of applications available to both the patient and the healthcare provider is changing the way healthcare is being delivered and consumed. The integration of mobile devices into every-day lives is driving the changes in healthcare. While all areas of medicine are being impacted, changes are mostly of chronic care, long term care and any place that causes a need for constant data, monitoring or training. The acceptance of mobile devices by healthcare consumers within wide range of age and socioeconomic circumstances is reason to look at mobile technology as the future of healthcare. While increased use of mobile applications are welcomed by most providers and consumers alike, there is a need to systematize the study of its use. The authors provide a framework for considering mobile applications in healthcare, based on their risk-profile. They accomplish this by first identifying and classifying the mobile healthcare applications. DOI: 10.4018/jhdri.2011040103 International Journal of Healthcare Delivery Reform Initiatives, 3(2), 28-39, April-June 2011 29 Copyright © 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. and better applications among competing hardware companies is just heating up. No longer is the hardware assessed by customers for the look, design or plan, but rather by the number of applications that are available. Healthcare is no different in terms of the need for newer and better applications. However it appears that healthcare applications have only skimmed the surface in terms of potential possibilities for the future. Healthcare may be the area that experiences the most growth in coming years as a result of the current economic conditions and the price of healthcare. This paper will first enumerate some medical uses of mobile technology and also discuss demographics of people using mobile healthcare applications to change the way that healthcare is delivered to many patients. A major benefit to mobile apps is that they can strengthen the ties between patients and healthcare providers to extend treatment more thoroughly into their daily lives (Dunham, 2011). This integration into the lives of patients is the way in which mobile apps will redefine healthcare, as we know it. The capabilities of mobile devices and the versatility of the software applications (apps) as well as their popularity as a communication and information method will only continue to grow (Dunham, 2011). Some of the areas that these apps are growing are in the area of learning (i.e., junior doctors), diagnosis, long term care, psychological apps and disease management apps such as speech language, diabetes and smoking cessation.