An App a day keeps the Doctor away! Can Apps be good for your health?

Detecon Executive Briefing An App a day keeps the Doctor away! Can Apps be good for your health? As smartphone adoption soars and - with it - mobile application usage, the app ecosystem is evolving rapidly. App development, distribution and monetization are persistently creating exciting new markets and usage models. Possibly even more interesting is the vast potential apps have to impact everyday behavior, habits and purchase decisions and with this a variety of consumer industries. With the enabling technology now widespread, nearly every industry is taking notice and attempting to tap into the potential of mobile apps in their sector. This is particularly true in healthcare, a $2.6trillion industry in the US, where eHealth and mHealth topics are currently receiving significant attention. With smartphone ownership among minority and low-income segments of the population much higher than one might assume, the healthcare industry can find fertile ground for effective deployment here. We make ICT strategies work Detecon Executive Briefing Healthy app design gets smart Mobile apps hold significant promise for positive health interventions. Ensuring that the potential benefits are accessible to and realized by people with low socio-economic status (SES) remains a challenge. Because mobile phones are in close proximity to users at all times, there is tremendous potential for apps to be used as intervening mechanisms to promote good habits and, indeed, discourage bad ones. The characteristics of smartphones (personal, always-at-hand, powerful, and connected) make them excellent tools to help users modify their behavior and everyday habits. Though still a fairly new area of research, early studies of the efficacy of mobile apps in affecting behavioral change have been encouraging and reveal significant potential. Researchers at George Washington University (i) have studied the impact of The Pill Phone, a medication reminder app, on the compliance rates of medically underserved heart disease patients. Medication usage rates rose from 75% to 82% when patients used the app, whereas rates dropped when patients stopped using it. These results are encouraging, particularly in light of the fact that poor adherence to medication costs the US healthcare industry $100 billion a year in avoidable hospitalizations. Researchers and designers (ii) working on related initiatives highlight the importance of incorporating psychosocial research findings into app design to leverage existing know-how from adjacent fields of study. For one, competitive dynamics are powerful motivators which can be exploited to alter behavior. For example ‘gamification’ and goal-setting are popular trends. Secondly, combining game elements with social features further enhances commitment as social networks increase engagement. Online communities give users the sense that they are not alone, a powerful lever in creating sticky apps. Thirdly, app personalization to create a customized experience further improves relevance and ownership. Detecon International GmbH 11/2011 2 www.detecon.com Detecon Executive Briefing From static information to rich interaction Despite this potential, the current level of functionality among health-related apps remains relatively under-developed. A detailed evaluation of top-rated and downloaded Android apps relevant for obesity-related use cases revealed that there is significant opportunity for applications to incorporate advanced features and functionality (figure 1). Informative: Educate users about healthy behavior and habits; provide tips for success and positive Informative 72 (97%) outcomes. Interactive & Personalized: Customize recommendations, workouts, recipes, etc to user- Interactive & specific health needs, circumstances and 32 (43%) Personalized preferences with attention paid to specific socio- economic and cultural factors. Mix Social & Gaming: Use social networks and Social + 20 (27%) peers to motivate and encourage users; leverage Gaming games, competition, goal-setting and rewards to help users meet their goals. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Figure 1: Android Apps by Features As the evaluation results indicate, the health-related apps market can be considered to be in its infancy with the majority of offerings falling into a static, informational category (figure 2). Leading developers are innovating and gradually incorporating next-generation features such as personalization, gaming and social interactivity into health apps. To stand out and capture share, new entrants must build apps with rich feature sets that appeal to the users’ desire for relevance and engagement which will in turn help them to achieve and sustain their health objectives. Educating: Educational resources are needed to Educating 50 (68%) increase understanding of causes of and solutions for obesity-related health issues. Enabling: Apps can help address access in- Enabling 15 (20%) balances related to food, recreation, and healthcare. Monitoring 48 (65%) Monitoring: Preventing obesity and managing obesity-related chronic conditions by tracking, recording and evaluating various indicators. Intervening 13 (18%) Intervening: Actively engaging users via well-timed messages to help maintain health regime. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Figure 2: Android Apps by Functionality Detecon International GmbH 11/2011 3 www.detecon.com Detecon Executive Briefing Place your bets, please As discussed, smartphones can act as powerful tools to help users modify their lifestyle and habits. While we have already established that app functionality has a long way to go to fully harness this potential, there is also an opportunity for corporate and government stakeholders within the healthcare ecosystem to help drive developments by experimenting with alternative monetization strategies. Much has been written about the potential cost savings that could result from the adoption of healthier lifestyles and improved preventative care. It therefore follows that insurance companies and other healthcare entities, such as the government, may benefit from patient adoption of health-related mobile apps. The availability of free apps has resulted in a marketplace where consumers are largely unwilling to pay for apps. Consequently, in-app advertising and purchasing are common monetization models. However, given the potential cost savings, healthcare companies have an incentive to pioneer new monetization models. For example, insurance companies could subsidize app development and experiment with strategies to incourage patients to use apps to achieve improved health outcomes. US-based insurance giant ‘State Farm’ recently made a move in this direction, sponsoring an app called ‘On the Move’ that sends automatic text message replies when users are driving. The company hopes the app will help prevent distractions during driving and, thereby, save the company money with reduced accident claims. The authors Jan Steglich Jan.Steglich@detecon.com Satu Mujumdar Satyajit.mujumdar@detecon.com i   http://www.eweek.