The Journal of mHealth Vol 1 Issue 3 (June 2014) | Page 47

The Changing Face of Healthcare: Quality in Medical Applications

The Changing Face Of Healthcare:
Quality in Medical Applications
A thought leadership article by Dieter Speidel
For generations, innovations that created direct impact and value were personified by lone geniuses, the likes of
Thomas Edison and Steve Jobs toiling
away in their laboratories. Today's reality, however, paints a different picture;
the confluence of Political, Economic,
Social, and Technological forces forge
a diverse, and often complex ecosystem
that shapes, fosters and demands innovation. The medical technology field, especially in the developed economies, long
profited from the convergence of forces
that spurred innovations, such as prosthetic limbs, hearing aids, imaging technologies and less-invasive cardiovascular
procedures, which have reduced recovery times and greatly improved healthcare outcomes.
However, according to PwC’s report
titled, “Operating performance in the
Medtech industry: Trends and imperatives”, Research and Development
(R&D) activities are not generating as
much value and growth as they historically did. PwC's study of 56 global medical technology companies revealed that
the impact of R&D on revenue growth
declined at an average annual rate of
10% between 2005 and 2011. These
companies compensated for this decline
through cost cutting measures and by
increasing operational efficiencies.
The most significant challenge faced by
the medical device industry is that the
fundamental nature of innovation has
changed dramatically. It was a world built
on incremental innovations with hardware focus. The notion that the players
could demand price premiums for these
innovations is slowly disintegrating. This
phenomenon is accelerated by the emergence of modular systems that complement hardware ubiquitously available
among healthcare stakeholders and by
shift to software-centricity.
The adoption of mobile technology at
breakneck speed has also transformed
the Healthcare industry, creating an
area of innovation - Mobile Healthcare

(mHealth), fueled by numerous mobile
applications developed and released by
companies and developers alike for general use by lifestyle consumers, patients
and healthcare professionals’. In 2012,
the number of medical application users
reached 247 million and the global revenue from mHealth apps grew to USD
1.3 billion, and continues to grow on an
upward trending curve.

Surveys reveal that mobile applications have become increasingly important to both, patients and doctors alike.
Research conducted by Dutch physicians
showed that over 60% of doctors use
medical apps on their mobile devices.
83% of them use mobile apps to find
information; 47% utilise them for reference purposes, and about 40% use them
for support during consultations.

With mobile applications, regular smartphones could be easily converted into
an effective healthcare platform that
patients come to rely on.

However, another study published by
the Department of Neurology in the
Academic Medical Centre, University of
Amsterdam also discusses the dangers,
lack of regulation, and proposes quality
assurance guidelines for mobile healthcare apps. The authors of the study
agree that medical apps have tremendous
potential, but also underline the alarming lack of knowledge about risks these
apps pose. Regulation and guidance are
urgently required.

Disease symptoms and medication side
effects can be easily and progressively
tracked, logged and electronically shared
with healthcare practitioners. Gathering
diagnostic data, such as blood pressure,
heartbeat rate, and even much more
complex and kinds of diagnostics such
as e.g. for antibiotic resistance and eye
diseases can be automated. Appointments with healthcare specialists can be
scheduled with a single click and these
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