mHealth Summit 2012

During the last few weeks, I had the privilege of attending several conferences and expos. Almost all of them involved information technologies, but many also focused on the utilization of mobile technologies.

The latest one is the mHealth Summit which I am currently attending as I write this column. It is the largest of its kind and “brings together leaders in government, the private sector, industry, academia, providers and not-for-profit organizations from across the mHealth ecosystem to advance collaboration in the use of wireless technology to improve health outcomes in the United States and abroad.”

Dubbed as one connecting Technology, Business, Research and Policy, the Summit is actually a global meeting by virtue of the participation of 54 countries spanning different parts of the world.

The list of the countries as provided to me by the organizers include:

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WHY GO MOBILE? Let the numbers speak for themselves.

In 2012, there are over 6 billion mobile phone subscriptions for a world population of 7 billion.  In fact, in the United States, 297 million people own cell phones. That is 94% of the total population.

Chuck Martin, a Best-Selling Author and Moderator of one of the sessions, now calls the mobile device the 3rd Screen – with the TV and the PC Screens being the 1st and 2nd respectively.  There are 2 billion TVs and 1 billion PCs today.

In his book, “The Third Screen”, which I received at the Summit, he stated that, in the United States, 23 million people let go of their landlines within a 5-year period. Globally, there were 57 million fewer landlines within the same period but 1.9 billion mobile cellular subscriptions were added.

In China, 9 out of 10 mobile users text on the phones. In fact, worldwide 7 trillion text messages were sent last year with each Texter sending an average of 3200 texts monthly.

In 107 countries, cell phones exceed the population. In Japan, consumers swipe cell phones rather than credit cards for payment. In South Korea, free mobile television has been around for 5 years. Broadcasters there say almost 30 million people watch TV regularly from their phones.

After mentioning the mobile data to my barber he said: “There are now more people TYPING with their THUMBS than with the normal way (all fingers).”

As of March 2011, over half of U.S. consumers carry a smartphone, and 90% of them say they use their device every single day.

Juniper Networks also reports the following interesting Smartphone user behavior and expectations: 89% of business users access critical work data from their personal mobile device; 41% business users use personal devices for work without company permission/knowledge; 30% of IT pros belong to companies that experienced security threat due to a personal mobile device; 41% of IT pros are concerned about security breaches due to lost or stolen mobile devices; there will be a 1.19 billion worldwide mobile worker population by end of 2013; 35% of the world’s workforce are expected to be mobile by the end of 2013;  and 32% of IT pros are concerned with personal mobile devices introducing malware.

At the Summit, separate sessions were conducted dealing with obesity, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Healthcare for the aging population was also a concern.

Again, I chose to tell the story by looking at the numbers as I obtained in the sessions.

Over 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese and 79 million are pre-diabetic.

Cancer and heart disease now cause 1 out of every 2 U.S. deaths. Spending on these chronic conditions account for a staggering 75% of the $2.6 trillion annual U.S. healthcare budget.

At the current growth rates, healthcare costs will consume 1/5 of GDP by 2018 and over 1/3 by 2030.

Starbucks spends more on employee health benefits than coffee.  GM, Ford, and Chrysler spend more on employee health expenses than on the steel they use to make cars.

According to the mHealth Alliance, by 2015 there will be more people over the age of 65 than children under 5. By 2050, there will be an estimated 1.5 billion people age 65 or over.

In a survey of older people in 36 countries, 61% of older people have access to a mobile phone.

GOOD NEWS

Fortunately diabetes, obesity, hypertension and their downstream complications including cancer and heart disease are largely preventable. Studies also show that 40% of cancers (prostate, breast, lung and colon) and 75 % of all cardiovascular disease can be prevented by healthy behavior.

The Promise of mHealth

More than 4000 participants composed of “leaders in government, the private sector, industry, academia, providers and not-for-profit organizations from across the mHealth ecosystem” precisely gathered in one place to exchange data, information, knowledge, expertise as well as to demonstrate new mobile technologies with the goal of improving health outcomes worldwide.

Indeed, the use of mobile information and communication technology and applications for health is the promise of mHealth. As described by the mHealth Alliance, it “is the ability to assist in preventing the onset of debilitating, chronic diseases, and to assist in the management and treatment of existing conditions toward a society of citizens who are more productive, functional, and healthier.”

I feel proud and lucky to have participated in this large and very informative event!