Mobile Medicine (m-Health)

Why mobile medicine is needed

m-Health projects address a range of challenges, including:

• increased access to health care and health information;
• improving the ability to diagnose, monitor and monitor diseases in a timely manner;
• providing useful public health information;
• increasing access to medical education and training of health workers, etc.

Mobile Medicine Technologies

The provision of health services through mobile phones and smartphones is one of the current trends in global health. m-Health implements types of services with different technologies in terms of complexity:

• Projects using SMS mailings for information purposes, initiated by the state, public organizations, pharmaceutical companies, etc.;
• Mobile telemedicine;
• Downloaded applications in online stores that are used by users for different purposes (fitness, informing);
• Complex applications/platforms for mobile phones, with integrated capabilities/or appropriate devices for taking vital signs - sugar level, pressure, etc.

Mobile medicine is effectively used in the treatment and prevention of infectious and non-communicable diseases, caring for the elderly, informing pregnant women, and combating child and maternal mortality.

A rapidly growing segment of the m-Health market is mobile applications for smartphones in the field of health. There are 4 main categories of mobile applications:

• general health and fitness (fitness and nutrition, etc.);
• medical information (reference books, information, diagnostics, education);
• remote consultation and monitoring,
• health management (electronic patient records, logical and payment support).

Mobile Medicine Market in the World

As of 2013, the mobile medicine market is in its infancy. It consists of several segments, for example, mobile medical applications, mobile medical or compatible equipment, services, etc.

Project assignments and primary objectives vary by country. In developed countries, services and services are aimed primarily at improving the quality of life, the level of medical service, in developing countries - to solve urgent health problems, such as the fight against AIDS, the availability of medical services.

In mid-2013, the United States is the most developed mobile medicine market in terms of the number of projects - 175 projects, which is equivalent to 18% of the total. The UK is implementing the largest number of projects among Western European countries. In second place in the number of mobile medicine projects in Western Europe - Spain - 11 projects, in third - Sweden - 8 projects. Most of the launched mHealth projects in Europe are dedicated to monitoring patients with chronic diseases and elderly, separately living people. Other developed countries with relatively high numbers of m-Health projects include Canada, South Korea and Australia. The table shows data for 15 countries.

Key areas of m-Health applications in developing countries are:

• education and education,
• remote collection of data on diseases and patients,
• remote monitoring,
• communications and trainings for healthcare professionals,
• tracking disease outbreaks and epidemics,
• support for diagnosis and treatment.

In addition, the most urgent problems that mobile medicine technologies solve in developing countries are: maternal and child health and infectious diseases. South Africa ranks second in the world in the number of projects. India along with Uganda are in third place.

Mobile Medicine Market in Russia

Russia has adopted a state program for the development and modernization of healthcare, within the framework of which special attention is paid to the informatization of this industry. The health informatization plan is synchronized with the general health development program until 2020.

The following services are implemented and planned as part of the program

• Electronic appointment with a doctor through a single recording system on the public services portal
• Electronic Medical Record
• Electronic recipe
• Register of high-tech medical care in electronic form
• Electronic Medical Library
• Telemedicine consultations, video conferencing systems
• Remote monitoring and screening of patients with chronic diseases
• Service personal account of the patient

According to J'son & Partners Consulting, as of July 2013, 16 projects, products or services in the field of m-Health were presented in Russia. For users of mobile phones and smartphones, paid and free applications are available in app stores.

All Big Three operators in 2010-2012 began to provide services and/or enter into partnerships in the field of mobile medicine.

In Russia, among the main obstacles to the development of the m-Health market are:

• low level of informatization of Russian medical institutions,
• weak knowledge of IT culture among the medical staff,
• conservativeness of physicians and patients.

Nevertheless, according to the forecast of market participants, the direction of mobile medicine will develop intensively, doctors, patients especially in large cities will strive to provide and receive medical services using mobile solutions.

The most significant drivers of the mobile medicine market are rapid growth in smartphone penetration, demand for m-Health services from patients/users, adoption of patient-oriented models in healthcare delivery, technological innovation, and easy access to mobile solutions. Also significant factors are an increase in target groups, a decrease in the cost of m-Health solutions, an increase in the number of partnerships between companies, the involvement of new innovative players in m-Health, the need to reduce costs.

Consumer unwillingness is a deterrent to the m-Health market. Patients and doctors are unaware of or unable to find mobile medicine solutions. On the other hand, cost is m-Health's most important barrier and often patients are not prepared to pay for high-tech solutions.

Information security is also a certain barrier, as it includes a wide range of data privacy and data security issues.

m-Health's target audience - the elderly, people with chronic diseases - has a low smartphone penetration rate, which is an additional deterrent to the development of the mobile medicine market.

The novelty of the mobile medicine market requires solving a number of problems:

• development of the system of interaction between the process participants,
• selection of the most successful business models,
• forming partnerships,
• development of unified regulation and standards.

Market estimates

2024: Global Mobile Medicine Market Growth to $36.68 Billion

In 2024, spending on the global mobile medicine market (mHealth) amounted to $36.68 billion. About 30% of this amount fell on the North American region. Such indicators are reflected in the Fortune Business Insights review, which TAdviser reviewed in mid-April 2025.

By mHealth, analysts mean medical care (monitoring, disease prevention, diagnostics, etc.) using mobile devices and wireless data transmission technologies, including cellular communications. Patients can use a variety of wearable gadgets and sensors to track their own health data. Related mobile applications allow you to analyze the collected information, receive reminders, recommendations, etc. mHealth tools are widely used to monitor a variety of diseases, including cardiovascular ailments, diabetes, insomnia, etc. mHealth platforms also help organize effective interactions between patients and physicians. At the same time, health care providers can reduce the costs associated with traditional face-to-face reception of visitors.

The study said the COVID-19 pandemic has had a positive impact on the industry. People around the world began to pay increased attention to their health, which led to an increase in demand for wearable devices that allow them to assess the state of the body. In addition, against the background of self-isolation of citizens and quarantine restrictions, digital medical platforms were actively developing. Increasing demand for mHealth solutions is also driven by the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and an aging population. Heart ailments, diabetes, hypertension and many other pathologies require constant monitoring of the patient's condition or regular examinations in medical institutions. mHealth tools simplify the process by offering remote monitoring features.

Technological advances, including the introduction of artificial intelligence and machine learning, as well as the emergence of more advanced sensors and wearable devices, play an important role in the development of the industry. AI algorithms are able to analyze huge arrays of health information at high speed, tracking dangerous deviations in indicators and generating recommendations. At the same time, wearable gadgets are overgrown with additional functions, offering expanded capabilities for monitoring the vital parameters of the body.

The authors of the study segment the market into solutions for disease/treatment management, tracking health indicators, etc. The second of these sectors provided the lion's share of revenue in 2024, while the first accounted for 27.8%. Geographically, North America leads with costs of $11.21 billion, which corresponds to 30.6% of global spending. The expansion of the mHealth sphere here is facilitated by the developed communication infrastructure and the high pace of implementation of advanced digital technologies. Globally, significant players are named:

• Fitbit;
• Apple;
• Omada Health;
• Livongo Health (Teladoc);
• Boston Scientific Corporation;
• Omron Healthcare;
• Abbott;
• Jawbone Health Hub.

In 2025, spending in the mobile medicine sector worldwide is expected to rise to $40.65 billion. Fortune Business Insights analysts believe that in the future, the CAGR in the market under consideration will be 11.8%. As a result, costs are estimated to increase to about $88.7 billion by 2032^[1]

Notes