The UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) arranged clear and ambitious focuses on for reducing child and maternal mortality worldwide, but an expanding scarcity of healthcare workers and other economic and environmental trends are making reaching these goals by 2015 a growing number of unlikely. As mobile phone consumption continues its explosive growth, mHealth, the use of mobile devices in health solutions, gets the possible ways to revolutionize healthcare delivery in much of the developing world. mHealth features a selection of applications such as remote data collection, education and awareness, remote monitoring, communication and training for healthcare workers, disease and epidemic outbreak training, and diagnostic and treatment support.
Unfortunately, few mHealth implementations today have realized a sustainable business model. The truth studies presented in the record rely largely on seed funding from philanthropic organizations or are part of a company social responsibility initiative. These early implementations demonstrate real proof-of-concept and initial good results, but once donated funding dries up the projects are often prematurely terminated. This leaves those most in need, people living at the BoP, back where they started - with few health services available.
These days, health issues may well be the most important barrier to sustainable global development. The next few years present both a massive problem and an important opportunity to take benefits of the momentum of mobile health, hence realizing dramatic improvements in healthcare delivery towards the bottom of the pyramid.
Unfortunately, few mHealth implementations today have realized a sustainable business model. The truth studies presented in the record rely largely on seed funding from philanthropic organizations or are part of a company social responsibility initiative. These early implementations demonstrate real proof-of-concept and initial good results, but once donated funding dries up the projects are often prematurely terminated. This leaves those most in need, people living at the BoP, back where they started - with few health services available.
These days, health issues may well be the most important barrier to sustainable global development. The next few years present both a massive problem and an important opportunity to take benefits of the momentum of mobile health, hence realizing dramatic improvements in healthcare delivery towards the bottom of the pyramid.
