A new report from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics paints a less-than-favorable picture of the mobile healthcare app landscape.
According to the 65-page study, "Patient Apps for Improved Healthcare: From Novelty to Mainstream," a vast majority of the healthcare apps available to be public have limited functionality. In addition, the study indicates most apps aren't downloaded that often, few are designed to address areas of greatest need, and physicians are generally hesitant to recommend apps because they don't trust them.
“The movement toward digital therapeutics is clear. Mobile health apps have the potential to drive a disruptive shift in patient engagement and healthcare delivery,” said Murray Aitken, IMS' executive director, in a press release accompanying the study. “Harnessing the power of apps has become a focal point of innovation, yet barriers remain to their broad and systematic use by providers and patients. Development of clear evidence on the benefits of driving positive behavioral changes and improving health outcomes will be key to breaking through the barriers.”
Speaking in a conference call prior to the report's release, Aitken said IMS analyzed 43,689 health-related apps over the summer, eliminating about 20,000 that were focused on fashion, veterinary services and other ancillary uses, and another 7,400 targeted at healthcare professionals. That left 16,275 apps, he said, which IMS researchers looked at more closely.
Of those apps, he said, more than 90 percent scored less than 40 out of a possible 100 for functionality, based on 25 separate screening factors. While a majority did provide and display information, he said, far less than half offered instructions and only about 20 percent accepted patient-entered data.
"The vast majority of healthcare apps today have very limited functionality," he said.
In addition, Aitken said, more than half of the apps have been downloaded fewer than 500 times, while five apps account for 15 percent of all downloads. That means very few healthcare apps are gaining traction among consumers, and many are being tested and then abandoned.
Also, Aitken said, while seniors (those over 65) comprise the largest population using healthcare resources and the population most in need of healthcare services, only 18 percent of them are using smartphones, compared to 55 percent of consumers age 45-54. "Few apps are generally designed to address the greatest needs of healthcare," he concluded.
Finally, Aitken said, physicians recognize the potential for apps but aren't recommending them to their patients. That's because they aren't seeing evidence of a clinical benefit from apps, as would be found through randomized trials, nor are there any clear professional guidelines regarding app use. Also, he said, physicians aren't convinced that apps will protect personal health information.
Aitken offered four recommendations to help push apps from a novelty to the mainstream:
- Payers, providers, regulators and policymakers all have to outline and recognize the role that mHealth apps can play in healthcare.
- Providers and app developers have to establish security and privacy guidelines and state them clearly for consumers.
- There has to be a systematic evaluation of all healthcare apps on the market to provide consumers with evidence of their value.
- Apps must be integrated "with other aspects of patient care and other elements of health IT," such as the electronic health record.
While criticizing the current state of the industry, Aitken said the mHealth app market holds great promise.
"We do believe that there is a great deal of excitement about the potential opportunity of healthcare apps," he said.
The report itself also paints a rosy future.
"One such incentive in developed markets is the ongoing shift to patient-centered care models," the report concludes. "Stakeholders need to see patients as responsible and capable partners in healthcare management – and patient engagement through mobile apps is an exemplary first step in this process."
"Some of the areas where substantial gains can be made in the healthcare system involve exciting an interest in healthy lifestyles through diet and fitness apps, combined with the potential for remote monitoring and patient collected data being used to develop the healthcare management program. This could lead to fewer people contracting chronic conditions and actively adhering to treatment recommendations – improving patient outcomes at lower overall cost."
