Mobile medical devices and apps are popping up all over. Doctors are incorporating them into their practices to be more effective and efficient. Patients are using them to monitor specific aspects of their health, fill in gaps in their medical care, and take more responsibility for their well-being. Both doctors and patients are finding that mobile devices and apps can provide a fast and efficient way to stay in touch and exchange information.
The mobile health technology market–including devices, applications, and services–is expected to exceed $8 billion by 2018, according to research company GlobalData. That’s up from $500 million in 2010, a 44% compound annual growth rate. The rapid growth is being fueled by the increasing availability of a variety of healthcare applications.
This growth offers opportunities for developers, clinicians and patients alike. But along with those opportunities come several obstacles to contend with. Depending on the type of app, developers will have to jump through all sorts of hoops to get FDA approval. Similarly clinicians sometimes face resistance from IT managers when they want to bring their own devices into the enterprise setting. And patients are faced with a long list of mobile apps, some of which offer more hype than help.
sanjib tiwari on 14 Dec 12Mobile learning or m-learning has been defined differently in different studies, which indicates that m-learning is still in an evolving phase (Peng et al., 2009). M-learning has been defined as "e-learning using mobile devices and wireless transmission" (Hoppe et al., 2003; Chang et al., 2003). Two important aspects of m-learning are its ubiquity and mobility. Ubiquitous computing is access to computing technologies whenever and wherever they are needed and mobility can be defined as learning on the go (Peng et al., 2009). While e-learning is mostly dependent upon desktop personal computing (PC) technology, m-learning is dependent upon mobile devices (Orr, 2010).
