Telemedicine and Mobile Health Innovations Amid Increasing Regulatory Oversight
COMMENTARY Telemedicine and mobile health innovations amid increasing regulatory oversight By Sharon Klein, Esq., and Jee-Young Kim, Esq. Pepper Hamilton LLP The growing mobile health market is rapidly UNDERSTANDING TELEMEDICINE transforming health care delivery. More than AND MOBILE HEALTH 80 percent of physicians use mobile technology Telemedicine involves direct patient care to provide patient care, and more than and is a subcategory of telehealth, a broader 25 percent of commercially insured patients use concept that includes telecommunications mobile applications to manage their health.1 technologies, or mobile medical applications, Technological advancements, the expansion to remotely support health care, health- of access to health care under the Patient related education, public health and health Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. administration.3 Generally, telemedicine L. No. 111-148, the emphasis on cost- involves: effective quality care and the proliferation • Geographic separation between two or of mobile medical applications have pushed more participants or entities engaged in telemedicine to the new frontier of health care delivery. health care. Over the past 50 years, the scope of • The use of telecommunications tech- telemedicine practices has expanded to nology to gather, store and disseminate meet demands for immediate care in both health-related information. remote and metropolitan regions. Mobile • The use of interactive technologies to health, a form of telemedicine using wireless assess, diagnose and treat medical devices and cell phone technologies, conditions. has also evolved. By the end of this year, Mobile health is a medium through which experts expect 2 billion smartphones, telemedicine is practiced. It allows for tablets and other portable devices globally, increased provider and patient mobility, each of which can potentially provide as well as greater delivery of clinical care individuals access to health care information via consumer-grade hardware, such as The WebMD app is shown here.
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