Category: Featured News

Mhealth technology trends

Consumers in growing numbers are tying their healthcare to internet and mobile devices, bring mhealth and mobile commerce closer and closer together. More often than not, patients have already looked up their symptoms online long before they land in a waiting room or even an emergency room.

Google it first

Google, Bing, and other searches are fast becoming part of medical care for patients. Looking online at sites like WebMD is a lot faster than making an appointment and sitting in a waiting room for an hour waiting to see a real doctor. A study by DC Interactive Group and Demi & Cooper Advertising surveyed 18-24 year-olds about healthcare information. A whopping 90% stated that they believe in information found on web sites and through social media about medical conditions.

Anyone with a computer can post medical advice online, which is hugely dangerous, but there are credible sites out there. WebMD is one of them. Some have real doctors and nurses answering health care concerns for users, some on a paid basis. Other than information about symptoms and what they may mean, users also post reviews of doctors and medical institutions online, all available for anyone searching to find and read.

mhealth and mobile commerce

Doctors and medical facilities have a decent presence on social media. More than half of doctors surveyed believe that this actually helps to improve patient care. The downfall is that doctors have privacy laws that they must follow so they must be careful about how they address concerns and questions on social media. In a way, this can mean revenue through mobile means – mhealth mobile commerce – but can also be very limiting about how specifics are addressed.

Most doctors and nurses would agree that going on the internet to get medical advice is not the best option. An in-person visit is always essential, especially when a condition could be serious. However, some medical advice online can be useful and some mobile commerce tools can also help save likes. Apps that record when a patient takes medication or emails caretakers when medication has been skipped can go a long ways towards saving lives and upgrading quality of life for patients.

Small business payment processing company Electronic Commerce International urges small businesses to pay heed to mobile commerce choices and to embrace mobile payments from customers.

Fighting big business

One thing all small businesses have in common is the need to compete with larger businesses. Small business owners not only have to compete, but they also have to stay up on the latest trends and embrace what may be coming next or be left behind. Analyst at Yankee Group believe that small businesses that start using mobile payments are going to stay relevant. In fact, they believe that this should be an obvious move for small business entities.

Point of sale mobile commerce is predicted to be a huge trend for the year 2013. Smartphone users have options from the likes of Visa and PayPal that allow them to use their smartphone instead of cash or a credit card when making purchases in retail locations. Not everyone believes in the next boom being in mobile commerce, however, with Gartner predicting on 2% saturation in the market for mobile payments. However, having the ability to accept the technology can never be a bad thing as long as costs are low.

Proof is in the pudding

There are some doubts as to the projection of mobile payments in 2013 and beyond, but Jim Anderson, CEO of Electronic Commerce International reports that a full 20 percent of holiday sales for 2012 were done via mobile payments. These payments are no longer a novelty, but are becoming more of the normal way that some prefer to shop. Small businesses that accept mobile commerce payments can stay ahead of the curve.

Companies like Visa, MasterCard, and many financial institutions with large customer bases are said to be the leaders in mobile payments in the coming year. PayPal already has a program in place and is expected to handle 10 billion dollars in transactions in the coming year from mobile payments alone. Others, like Apple, have not added the functionality to new devices which may put a dent in the predictions for mobile commerce in general. However, Apple accounts for a small percentage of smartphone sales leaving a broader segment of users with the ability to start using the technology.