Mobile telecommunications as a healthcare solution
The Asia of today is a far cry from the way it used to be. Despite the recession, many countries are experiencing positive economic growth, combined with rapid improvements in the standard of living and technology. These changes have had a major effect on life expectancy, which has increased without exception all over Asia.
Now healthcare has become a major issue in Asia, for reasons substantially different to the spotlight that has been cast on it in the United States. Aside from the valuable lives being saved thanks to falling infant mortality and longer life expectancy, it is in Asia’s best interests to improve the quality of life of their work force as they contribute to the ongoing economic growth and development of the region.
Asia’s other great strength is, oddly enough, in mobile telecommunication. Rapid adoption of new technology coupled with high penetration rates for mobile phones has seen mobile phone ownership grow by leaps and bounds in this part of the world. Competition has brought the price of services down, and improved technology is constantly increasing the functionality of mobile phones.
That explains why the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) sees mobile healthcare as an emerging sector for mobile telecommunication growth, a prediction made in their white paper, Asia Mobile Telecommunication Innovation. The intersection of the ubiquitous mobile phone and the need for quality healthcare delivery seems a match made in heaven.
Home-grown firms in Japan, Korea and Australia are already taking advantage of this opportunity for innovation. In 2010, the healthcare business in Asia is likely to be worth just under USD$1 billion, with 70% of users in more advanced economies. This is a substantial user base that can benefit from advanced mobile healthcare technology.
Already we are beginning to see signs of such development. In Korea, Healthpia has launched a mobile phone that includes the ability to monitor users blood sugar levels, a world’s first. In Taiwan, Taiwan Mobile Healthcare Services provides high-bandwidth connection for doctors at Taipei Medical University Hospital, Tri-Service General Hospital and Taipei City-Wan Fang Hospital, which gives doctors access to patient records, allows them to monitor the condition of long-term sufferers of chronic diseases, provides high-quality diagnostic images and video as well as remote outpatient registration, all done wirelessly.
In fact, it seems only a matter of time before the strengths of the mobile phone are leveraged in better ways. Storing patient information on their mobile phones seems to be a logical next step, as is the use of smartphones to allow doctors on-the-go access to important medical information. (There are already iPhone apps that include this.) Incorporating diagnostic sensors into mobile devices is also a possibility (Healthpia’s phone is one example). Phones already exist that can measure heart rate and motion. Mobile-phone based payment systems may integrate with healthcare software to make access to medical services easier, and continuing interface and other work will make these new devices even easier to use. Devices may take advantage of always-on access to cellular and wifi networks to allow doctors to monitor patients remotely, offering patients’ peace of mind.
It is exciting to contemplate what the future might hold, even though the specifics are still far from clear. Still, the fact remains that mobile telecommunications and healthcare represent a very natural combination, a space for innovation that is ripe for the exploitation.
