[Mobile IT: Possibilities and barriers of mHealth]

Abstract

The increasing availability of mobile devices and corresponding applications, both for providers and patients, often leads to speculation that mHealth, as the combination of mobile devices and health services is often called, would revolutionize the use of information technology (IT) in healthcare. On the other hand users, providers and operators providing such solutions are often confronted with completely new challenges. This article assesses the options and potential of mHealth and also takes a critical look at potential obstacles. As this field is very broad this critical analysis is illustrated by means of three exemplary application areas: mHealth in radiology, the influence of mHealth on research and mHealth as an enabler of new services, always with examples from other countries.The use of mHealth in radiology currently often develops empirically from existing applications in a relatively unstructured way and benefiting from the dynamic development of mobile technology. The possibilities range from viewing images at the bedside via mobile accessibility of radiologists up to teleradiology. In research there is a huge potential in solutions that actively involve patients with their own mobile devices but the field of data protection is still perceived in Germany as problematic so that only a few research institutions are actively addressing these options. The concept of mHealth allows physicians, hospitals and other service providers to invent entirely new services and a start-up scene is beginning to be established with business models becoming successful particularly with exchanges at the interface with established suppliers.

Keywords: MHealth; Medical informatics applications; Start-up scene; Strategy; Teleradiology.