New mHealth Google hits 2006-2012

This statistic depicts the number of new Google hits on mHealth from 2006 to 2012. In 2009, there were 27,500 new Google hits for mHealth. MHealth or mobile healthcare has real potential for many consumers, providing improvements in convenience, cost, and quality of healthcare. It also provides an opportunity for doctors to provide better patient care and allow for easier administrative work. By late 2011, there were just under six billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide.

Global new mHealth hits on Google

Mobile health or mHealth is the practice of medicine or public health that is supported through the use of mobile devices. The number of global Google hits under the term “mHealth” has increased significantly within the last decade. In 2006, there were 2,750 new Google hits for mHealth and had increased to 314,500 new hits by 2012. The mobile health industry is projected to continue its growth, increasing from 8.3 billion U.S. dollars in market size as of 2013 to 58.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. Mobile health market maturity differs across the world. The United States received a 3.8 score based on their awareness and openness for the mHealth market, while China and India both received scores of 7.8. However, the United States received a higher score for technology that enables the usage of mHealth applications and services.

Mobile health has the potential to improve the coordination of patient care and information to generate more individualized healthcare, supported with more patient data. Apps that improve quality of healthcare and that are applicable to healthcare professionals and their roles are essential. The mHealth market must ensure that mobile devices are able to work in tandem with healthcare facilities’ digital infrastructure. As of 2013, Apple offered 16,275 health applications targeted towards consumers and 7,407 applications for healthcare professionals.