What you need to know about the mHealth revolution that’s taking hold in India

With a large penetration of mobile phones in the country—currently more than 900 million cellular phone subscriptions—India's medical community is realizing that the adoption of mHealth will play a key role in improving access and quality of healthcare in the country. mHealth, short for mobile health, is the use of mobile phones, tablets, and other technology to support or enhance the delivery of healthcare.

Countries such as China, Brazil, and the United States have all turned to mHealth in varying degrees. There are significant differences in mHealth adoption among emerging and developed nations. A recent survey—“Emerging mHealth: Paths for growth”—from PricewaterhouseCoopers sought to assess the climate for the utilization of mHealth in 10 developing and developed countries.

“Ninety-two percent of physicians in India expected a noticeable effect of mHealth within 3 years, and 52% said they believe that the widespread adoption of mHealth is inevitable.”
-Neelesh Bhandari, MD, physician entrepreneur focused on communication technology in healthcare and author of the blog Digital Medicine

The extensive study included a patient survey with more than 1,000 respondents, a physicians’ survey with 433 physicians, and a payer survey with 345 respondents. The study shows that expectations are...