A very interesting smartphone and heath care report was just released by Jane Sarasoh-Kahn of the California Healthcare Foundation. The focus of her report is the recent adoption of and use of smartphones by consumers and health care providers. Approximately 2/3 of doctors and 42% of the public used smartphones as of late 2009.
The number of smartphone applications related to health and health care is overwhelming. In February 2010 there were close to 6,000 such applications in the Apple AppStore. Nearly 3/4 of those apps were intended for use by consumers and over 25% were for health care professionals. The types of application ranged from diagnostics tools (for Physicians) to managing conditions (consumers).
The smartphone market is continuing to grow however there are concerns about privacy issues and even the business model. Nevertheless smartphones and health care applications will continue to play an increasing role in the health care industry. Maybe there is a provision in the health care reform law to subsidize buyers of smartphones and or users of health care applications?