Last week, we released a new white paper for one of our clients to highlight the growing use of mobile apps by specialty physicians. In tracking physician communication patterns over the past four years, we found mobile health technologies are steadily gaining ground as a preferred form of communication and information retrieval.
The white paper explores a potential revolution in the application of technology to diagnosis and patient care. Of the 365 physicians who participated in our online survey, those who use mobile medical apps on a daily basis reported a difference in how they practice medicine – they use the apps to enhance at-the-bedside functionality, patient education, and even diagnostic capabilities. A breakdown of mHealth app usage among our survey respondents is shown to the right.
According to iTunes.com, more than half of all U.S. physicians have downloaded mHealth apps to their smart devices. We found hospitals and health systems that promote the broad use of new technologies in the workplace show more rapid physician adoption among both the younger and older generations. Current industry articles and surveys indicate Epocrates (pictured below), Medscape and Micromedex typically top the list of most-used medical apps by physicians.
The survey respondents’ wish list for mHealth functionality is long and includes the following:
– Access to electronic medical records
– Medical illustrations and information for patient viewing at the point of care
– Evidence-based references and protocols with easy search and read
– Patient reminders
– Dictation, coding and billing assistance
– Calculators
We believe many opportunities exist to enhance the physician practice through future development of mobile health applications. At Dobies Health Marketing, we look forward to further exploring the evolving use of medical apps among physicians as an efficient accessory to the power of the brain.
Medical professionals: Are you using mobile health apps at your practice? If so, tell us about your experiences and what you hope to see for the future of mHealth. We want to hear from you!