In this paper, Darrell West discusses the unique capabilities of the 5G era, explores applications of IoT technology in medicine, and recommends policies for making these new care delivery systems a reality. 5G technology has the potential to increase patient access to treatment options, reduce hospital visits, and create a flexible network of telehealth, in addition to reducing overall medical costs.

West argues that work needs to be done to facilitate an end-to-end system. Fully realizing the potential of the health IoT will require investments in digital infrastructure and changes in reimbursement policy, privacy protection, and research data. Devices must connect to networks and the cloud in ways that are interoperable and secure. That will enable health providers and patients to receive the benefits of digital innovation for wellness and health care. By overcoming these barriers, both health care consumers and providers will see substantial advances in medical treatment.

      

 

 

In this report, Darrell West examines mHealth applications in Africa. In particular, he focuses on Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone and takes a brief look at other innovations occurring in the North African country of Morocco. West examines how mobile technologies have improved maternal health care and helped deal with disease outbreaks such as Ebola.

The report covers examples and case studies of how mobile innovations are working to improve health care in Africa. It also includes a discussion of the following issues:

• Challenges and opportunities for mHealth in developing countries
• Nigeria case study on mHealth impact and benefit
• Aiding the fight against Ebola
• Mobile health solutions in Liberia and Sierra Leone
• Examples of the impact of mHealth in other areas and other parts of the developing world
• Rural versus urban care
• Key to continued mHealth impact for developing countries

Mobile innovation offers an opportunity to strengthen the capacity of clinicians and increase the quality of timeliness of delivery of critical maternal and child health services. They have brought needed medical expertise to frontline health workers, systematized the compilation of patient information, tracked the spread of epidemics, and boosted disease training, diagnosis, and treatment. The bottom line is that mobile solutions represent a valuable way to improve patient treatment and public health reporting in the developing world.

      

 

 

On December 10, the Center for Technology Innovation hosted an event to discuss mobile technology’s role and potential future in developing economies as part of the ongoing Mobile Economy Project event series. A panel of experts discussed what is needed to ensure that emerging mobile economies continue to grow, and how intellectual property, spectrum policy, and public policies contribute to sector development.

Join the conversation on Twitter using #TechCTI

      

 

 

Mobile technology has the potential to decrease health care costs by facilitating the delivery of care and access to medical information. In the area of learning, mobile applications can invigorate rural learning, enabling millions of students in developing countries to further their education in ways that would otherwise not exist.

Presently, the global mobile economy totals $1.6 trillion, or two percent of the world’s GDP. The continued growth of mobile applications will increase this output to $2 trillion by 2017. Darrell West examines the great potential of the mobile economy, identifying the countries across the globe that are becoming leaders in this growing industry. In this paper, West finds:

• Mobile technology adds significantly to global economic growth each year, adding up to 0.39 percent to GDP and hundreds of thousands of new jobs. There is evidence of multiplier effects on these outputs among developed and developing countries that invest in mobile infrastructure.

• The pace of research and development in countries affects their ability to design and build new products and services. Countries like Israel, Finland, and South Korea are leaders in R & D as a proportion of their GDP. While countries like China lag, Chinese residents now file more patents than any other country, followed by the United States and Japan.

• The global public increasingly view innovation and entrepreneurship as important for delivering societal benefits and economic development. Survey results detail the attitudes of these countries’ citizens, including viewing themselves as inventors; the belief that invention is important to society; the idea that invention drives economic growth; and the belief that their government’s lack of protection for inventor rights presents a barrier to innovation.

West concludes that countries must create an environment conducive to innovation, invest in mobile infrastructure, and work to maintain the connectivity and interoperability of networks that allows all to participate in the global system.

      

 

 

On September 10, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings hosted an event on mobile innovation, investment, and invention around the world. Discussion centered on significant differences across nations in how much they invest in innovation, create new ideas, and provide legal protections that are important for small inventors and mobile entrepreneurs. Brookings Vice President Darrell West also shared findings from a forthcoming paper that identifies which nations excel at investing in research and development and patent protections.  Discussion also focuses on attitudinal data from 17 countries about mobile invention and its relationship to economic growth.

This event is part of the Mobile Economy Project. Join the conversation on Twitter at #TechCTI.

      

 

 

In particular, China and the United States provide strong examples of recent developments and emerging opportunities in mobile health, or mHealth. In order to best leverage these advances, China and the United States must change operations and policy practice in order to facilitate the growth of the mHealth sector and ultimately capture the benefits of mobile technology in healthcare, these scholars assert.

The authors suggest four ideas that policymakers can extol and undertake to speed the development and adoption of mHealth:

1. Mobile devices offer the potential to improve affordability of health care by lowering disparities based on geography and income. Policymakers should encourage the use and adoption of cellphones, smartphones, and tablets in medical care;

2. Public officials should reimburse health providers who offer consultations, diagnoses, and treatment through remote monitoring devices and other types of mobile technologies;

3. Mobile phones aid the patient experience by providing a means to deliver medical reminders and diagnostic information to patients and physicians. Reminders via text messages or mobile phones can encourage patients to take medication at the suggested time and dosage, and this will improve the quality of patient care;

4. mHealth helps policymakers by encouraging better health data collection and analysis. Figuring out what works and doesn’t work is one of the biggest challenges in health care.

      

 

 

On March 13, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings hosted a panel of experts to address mobile health care challenges and solutions in both the Chinese and U.S. economies. Questions that were explored include: What challenges and opportunities does the field of mHealth create? How can China and the United States develop frameworks to empower mHealth providers to address important problems in health care? Panel discussants also focused on findings and data from a forthcoming paper, “mHealth in China and the United States:  How Mobile Technology is Transforming Healthcare in the World’s Two Largest Economies.”

Join the conversation on Twitter at #mHealth.

      

 

 

On December 11, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings hosted an event on the impact of the mobile revolution on changing models of service delivery as part of the Mobile Economy Project. Panels of experts discussed the sociological, governmental and economic effects of mobile technology’s rapid expansion in the United States and around the world.

Follow along using the hashtag #TechCTI.

      

 

 

In this paper, part of the Mobile Economy Project, Darrell West looks at specific applications and inventions, and discuss how mobile is transforming health care in the United States and around the world. He argues that mobile health helps frontline health workers and health care providers extend their reach and interactions – enabling them to be more efficient and effective in their provision of medical assistance. And in the conclusion, West recommends several steps that will speed the adoption of mobile technology in health care.

• Policymakers should encourage the use of mobile devices for health care.

Moving to electronic systems for service delivery will save money, improve access, and provide higher levels of quality in both developed and developing nations.

• Nearly three-quarters of medical expenditures takes place on a small number of chronic illnesses including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and asthma.

We should encourage the use of mobile systems that monitor patient symptoms and provide real-time advice on treatment and medication because they have the potential to control costs, reduce errors, and improve patients’ experiences.

• We should work to remove barriers to adoption of mobile applications that aid in chronic disease management and make these tools much more widely available.
• With growing knowledge about diseases, genetics, and pharmaceutical products, the practice of medicine has become far more complicated.

Health providers need access to as much accurate data as they can get on how to treat various ailments.

• One of the barriers to cost containment and quality service delivery has been the continued reliance in many locales on paper-based medical systems.

In a digital world, one cannot imagine a costlier way to run a health care system.

• On the issue of government regulation, the FDA has finalized its guidance on how mobile applications and regulated mobile medical devices are to be treated in an effort to clarify some of the ambiguities and help further innovation.

Having clear rules that encourage desirable behavior is the best way to move forward in mobile health.

Editor’s Note: This paper is released in tandem with the panel discussion:
 
The Modernization of Health Care through Mobile Technology and Medical Monitoring Devices
 
on October 22, 2013
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On October 22, as part of the Mobile Economy Project, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings hosted an event on how specific mobile applications and inventions are transforming health care and the ways regulators and governments are working to facilitate their use. Panelists discussed the types of applications and services that are being created and how mobile technology can help health care workers provide more effective care and enable patients to lead healthier lives.