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A Mobile Health Enterprise [Audio] Conversation with Shahid N. Shah

7 Responses

1. Ann Miller RN MHA, on February 6, 2013 at 2:48 AM said:

   Docs, Patients: Prepare for Smartphone Medicine

   Agree with the above – One hopeful prospect for dealing with the changes in demand and demographics of the future is the cellphone.

   Why? It is estimated that 55% of World citizenry have cellphones now, and by 2018 there will be a cellphone for every person on the planet. In the United States over 80% of the population has cellphones.

   http://www.physiciansnews.com/2013/02/01/doctors-patients-prepare-for-smartphone-medicine/?utm_source=2.4.13&utm_campaign=11713&utm_medium=email

   We are entering an era when patients will become more involved in their own medical care and participate with their physician in this care.

   Ann Miller RN MHA

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2. Ralf-Gordon Jahns, on April 25, 2013 at 10:00 AM said:

   Dear Ann and David,

   The Market For Mobile Health Sensors Will Grow To $5.6 Billion By 2017

   The revenue generated with sensors connecting to an app will reach $5.6 billion by 2017. The market will grow by 69% (CAGR) over the next 5 years. 61 Mio. sensors will be shipped to mHealth app users in 2017.

   In 2017, more than 61 Mio. external sensors will be shipped to smartphone and tablet users. Ralf-Gordon Jahns, Head of Research at research2guidance, explains: “The majority of sensors will track health parameters for sports and fitness purposes just as the existing hundreds of ANT+ sensors today.”

   There are approximately 200 external sensors that connect to a smartphone app today. The majority of these sensors is priced between $20 and $ 200 and is usually charged as one-off-payment or included in a subscription model.

   Today’s app-connecting sensors are more consumer products than medical products. Ralf-Gordon Jahns points out that “with the boom of the smartphone app market, sensors which link to an app became fashionable products. They have got nothing to do with the grey and clumsy sensors that really looked like medical devices and that you would hestitate to show in public. Today’s app-related sensors are very designed just like the corresponding apps”.

   The sensor business model will shift from proprietary solutions, which are only working with a single app to open systems, which allow connections to multiple apps (e.g HxM BT by Zephir, Withing).

   mHealth app based business models, which rely on sensors sales will play a major role in the mHealth market, says the new “Global Mobile Health Market Report 2013-2017” by research2guidance.

   mHealth apps make more and more use of external sensors. Sensors can track a range of health metrics, such as blood pressure, heart rate, glucose level, medication compliance and more. They connect with the corresponding app via Bluetooth, WiFi or USB. The app analysis, displays and shares the data that is being monitored by the sensors.

   The market today is dominated by small tech companies that have been first to enter the market in 2009 and 2010. With the growing market potential, big brands from sport like Nike or technology giants (e.g. Samsung) have entered the mHealth sensor market as well. First market exits (e.g. Zeo) indicate that the market will become tough for small tech companies that do not have the financial muscle to increase their customer base fast enough and to keep track with the innovation speed in the smartphone/app/sensor market.

   The “Global Mobile Health Market Report 2013-2017” by research2guidance is a business guide for traditional healthcare companies, mHealth specialists, as well as for mobile operators wishing to successfully engage into the new mHealth market.

   Please visit http://www.research2guidance.com for more information.

   Link to report:

   http://www.research2guidance.com/shop/index.php/mhealth-report-2

   Link to blog post:

   http://www.research2guidance.com/the-market-for-mobile-health-sensors-will-grow-to-5-6-billion-by-2017/

   Link to graph:

   

   Ralf-Gordon Jahns

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3. Hope R. Hetico RN MHA, on October 8, 2013 at 12:27 PM said:

   New Mobile and Tele Health Trends

   In order to achieve high-integrity information exchange and improved health outcomes, the U.S. health care delivery system will need dynamic, real-time solutions that do more than securely swap and store data.

   http://www.healthsharetv.com/content/health-it-trends-telehealth-mhealth

   In this video presentation, Nancy Green, a health care managing principal for Verizon Connected Healthcare Solutions, discusses how a “health care everywhere” model is driving telehealth and mHealth solutions, services and applications.

   So, sit back and enjoy.

   Source: Verizon Enterprise via Youtube.

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4. Ann Miller RN MHA, on November 7, 2013 at 6:12 PM said:

   Consumer Healthcare Apps by Individual Functionality

   Functionality Numbers:

   Inform 10,840
   Instruct 5,823
   Record 5,095
   Display 2,302
   Guide 1,434
   Remind/alert 1,357
   Communicate 395

   Source: IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics

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5. Bertrum, on May 16, 2014 at 7:55 PM said:

   m-Health

   5.1% of mHealth app publishers have generated more than USD 1 Million with their mHealth app portfolio last year (Millionaires). On the other hand, the vast majority (68%) has earned USD 0 to 10,000 (Low and No Earners).

   Source – research2guidance

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6. Zuzanna Pogorzelska, on August 14, 2014 at 10:48 PM said:

   8 drivers and barriers that will shape the mHealth app market in the next 5 years
   

   The main drivers of the mHealth app market are smartphone penetration and user demand. On the other side lack of data security and standards are causing the greatest uncertainties among market players. FDA and EU regulation are neither a driver nor a barrier.

   The omnipresence of devices capable of running mHealth apps (58%) is the biggest driver for the growth of the mHealth market by the mHealth app publisher community. User and patient demand (43%) come in second.

   The rise of mHealth apps goes hand in hand with the upcoming of patient-centered care models (39%). Apps are supposed to empower patients to take a more active role in their treatment process.

   On the other hand, the mHealth app market faces many obstacles. Lack of data security (34%) and standards (30%) are the major barriers for most market players. There are two other barriers which will have an impact on the development speed of the mHealth app market. With more than 100,000 mHealth apps listed in the Apple App Store and Google Play market, discoverability today already is a major concern for mHealth app publishers. And it will become even more relevant in the future with new apps pouring into those stores.

   Secondly the resistance from traditional healthcare providers is seen as yet another barrier. A lot of mHealth app publishers that rely on the support of e.g. doctors, health insurances or medical authorities have had frustrating experiences with those groups. Out of various reasons (e.g. lack of time, missing incentives, unknown evidence) traditional healthcare providers tend to slow down the proliferation of mHealth apps.

   Interestingly other factors, which are often cited in the media as fundamental for the slow development of the mHealth app market are only seen as hygiene factors. Lack of quality clinical studies or a clear regulatory framework, specific clinical requirements (e.g. sterilization of devices) and app development costs are perceived as some.

   The fact that clinical studies are rated relatively low in relevance is surprising as traditional payers in the healthcare system constantly emphasize that they need better clinical studies. They stress that they need studies run with more participants, conducted over longer time periods and including cost-saving parameters. This would allow them to e.g. reimburse the costs of mHealth apps or to include apps into the treatment plans. This does not prevent the majority of today’s mHealth app publishers to believe in the success of the mHealth market.

   mHealth app publishers are also indifferent regarding the existence of a regulatory framework. This is in contrast to the ongoing public discussion especially in the USA about the question if and how to lower the burdens of FDA regulations.

   The majority of the market players see app development costs as neither a barrier nor a driver of the market. Apps for simple use cases, which would not to be classified as “medical devices”, can be developed in just a few hours/days with the help of app factories’ templates nowadays. In general, mHealth app publishers report budgets for a single mHealth app project starting from USD 20,000 to USD 50,000 on average. There are apps out there which cost much more and the total app budget also increases with the number of platforms an app will be published on. Nevertheless, app development costs appear not to be a relevant factor of the market development for the next five years.

   These insights are based on the 4th mHealth App Developer Economics 2014 report. You can download a free copy of the 50 pages report here: http://mhealtheconomics.com/mhealth-developer-economics-report/

   Also, this autumn research2guidance is launching a series of thought leadership webinars that cover the most current topics of the mHealth app market. Find out more details: http://mhealtheconomics.com/webinars/

   Zuzanna Pogorzelska

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7. Ralf-Gordon Jahns, on December 10, 2014 at 12:50 PM said:

   5 Roles A Pharma Company Should Consider To Become More Successful In The mHealth App Market

   Pharma companies belong the most active group of mHealth app publishers. Nevertheless as compared to the importance they have in the traditional healthcare market, their impact in this relatively new market is low. Before releasing the next wave of mHealth apps, pharma should start a thorough discussion regarding its best-fit role in the mHealth app ecosystem.

   The twelve leading pharma companies have published more than 700 apps over the course of the last 5 years (Android and iOS). The majority of these apps target private users. With their entire app portfolio only 4 companies have managed to attract a user base that counts more than 100,000 app users in total.

   This is one of the results of the “Pharma App Market Benchmarking 2014” report, published at the end of October. The analysis shows that since the start of the app market, pharma companies have not yet proven to be successful mHealth app publishers. Looking ahead they should consider other roles that might better fit their assets and skills.

   Some of the potential roles for pharma in the mHealth market are:

   1. App publisher: This is the current role of pharma companies. Continuing to play that role would require restructuration of their current mHealth business. They will be challenged to become better in selecting the right app ideas, designing the business models, taking advantage of the existing concepts and codes, or in leveraging existing marketing channels to promote their apps. However, even these might not be enough to compete against the thousands of mHealth app developers who are 100% dedicated or tech giants like Apple, Google or Samsung that have recently entered into the mHealth app market.

   2. Investor: For some companies it might be an option to open up a fund which invests money and other resources into promising or already successful mHealth apps. This role would require an excellent screening and evaluation capability. VCs and incubators that concentrate on apps are able to work off a pipeline of 1,000 mHealth apps per year.

   3. App aggregator (app store): With more than 100,000 mHealth apps listed in Apple App Store and Google Play, the lack of visibility creates a need for specialized mHealth app stores. Pharma companies could manage and promote these mHealth app stores and pre-select the apps which fit their core products or fulfill current market demands.

   4. Data provider /API manager: There will be hundreds of mHealth apps capturing millions of vital data metrics from their users every day. Most of it will be stored on “walled garden” servers with no link to the healthcare systems in doctors’ offices or hospitals. There are already companies trying to bridge the gap between the app economy and the healthcare system. But if pharma was able to jump into this very dynamic market with all its financial strength, it could extract the immense value from the data analysis to create better products.

   5. Incubator: There are a lot of great technology-driven mHealth app companies out there which require e.g. a refinement of their business model, an access to traditional healthcare sales channels or just a professional working environment that a pharma company could easily provide. In return for this a pharma company would have a chance to to participate in the success of those companies and to learn from the start-up world e.g. about the entrepreneurial culture that is required in this fast-paced market.

   Assessment

   What does this all mean for the pharma companies’ app strategy? Instead of heading in the same direction as is has done over the last five years, pharma might want to reconsider its role in the mHealth app ecosystem. Otherwise it is likely to remain an industry player with a low impact on the mHealth app market. This is not a serious threat to pharma’s core business today, but in the next five years it might become.

   The “Pharma App Benchmarking 2014” report provides a detailed analysis about how pharma company make use of the new app channel and about their options for the future. To see the preview of the report, please click here:

   http://www.research2guidance.com/shop/index.php/pharma-app-benchmarking-2014

   Link to blog post:
   http://mhealtheconomics.com/5-roles-a-pharma-company-should-consider-to-become-more-successful-in-the-mhealth-app-market/

   Link to graph:
   

   Link to report:
   http://www.research2guidance.com/shop/index.php/pharma-app-benchmarking-2014

   Link to logo:
   

   Ralf-Gordon Jahns
   research2guidance
   +49 30 609 893 362
   ralf.jahns@research2guidance.com

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