Chris Minas on The Health App Epidemic

Chris Minas, founder of full service mobile marketing agency Nimbletank, discusses the mobile world and the rise of medical self-help apps on the market today in an opinion piece written for shots...

A new trend is sweeping the UK and globally, of apps and gadgets that monitor and provide insight into our health and wellbeing; from how many hours we sleep, to how much we drink to how often we have sex. According to ON World research the number of health measurement devices is set to reach 515 million by 2017. Are we facing a health app epidemic?

Apps and devices that allow consumers to take charge of their own treatment and prevention are trying to turn the mobile industry on its head, taking health care out of hospitals and doctor's offices, and putting more power in consumer hands. ABI Research estimates that the mobile healthcare apps will be worth $400 million by 2016 and there are currently around 40,000 healthcare apps available. Apple has even launched an ‘Apps for Healthcare Professionals’ collection which covers different sectors like nursing, patient education and monitoring.

An app a day...

A huge wave of smartphone apps is acting as self-tracking devices to help patients improve their health and manage diseases. These apps are beginning to empower individuals with tools that make it easier to change. They generate exactly the type of data physicians need to help patients navigate necessary lifestyle changes - the same changes doctors recite at the end of each office visit, often just as the patient is leaving.

Astro physicist turned computer scientist, Larry Smarr, has been named the most monitored person in the world having spent the last few years’ purporting the medical benefits of personal monitoring, by virtue of the fact we can now predict ailments or even serious diseases which can occur years down the line. Larry himself correctly self-diagnosed that he had Crohn’s disease through a monitoring system he developed in his own home. Even in the form of a simple app, these developments are set to impact on millions of people’s lives and on medical science in a profound way. There is also another app that was launched recently by Mango Health, which helps patients stick to their medication timetable, while being awarded points which turn into prizes.

Are you game?

One of the interesting effects of apps is how much usage is likened to gaming - the natural sense of competition that apps elicit in people is transforming people’s habits affecting their health. In a recent informal experiment reported by the BBC, scientist and presenter Dr Kevin Fong joined three women to see how three weeks of measuring sleep and activity levels would affect them. One of the effects he noticed was the feeling of competition, not only with other participants but also within himself. All participants increased their activity levels, to the point where, as one woman explained, she ended up running on the spot while watching TV just to get her activity numbers up.

Another way that health apps are having an impact is the opportunity that they present for advertisers, via the wealth of data generated about consumer’s daily activity. Through connected devices and apps, advertisers have the potential to source vast amounts of information about an individual’s daily activity. This can be used to develop not only innovative content, but also highly targeted health solutions.

Motherly media

Take BabyCenter, the brand that is often among the first people women tell they are pregnant. Mothers-to-be sign up for the site’s mobile app to get advice long before they clear the first trimester. Marketers consider pregnancy data to be some of the most lucrative, as having a baby usually sparks a family spending spree that can establish lifelong brand loyalties. BabyCenter exploits the trend with stroller and nappy ads. Large multi-national companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, and Target have found women’s health and pregnancy apps particularly appealing, flooding them with ads for tampons and a range of personal care and baby products, or trying to acquire them. The frequent and routine use of such health trackers creates many opportunities to collect data and deliver ads. P&G is even building its own period and pregnancy tracking apps.

But with all these exciting opportunities, considerations must be made for how consumers’ data is protected as well as shared with advertisers and third parties without the users' knowledge. A recent study found that many medical apps don't encrypt the sensitive or embarrassing data that consumers input about their health. More scrutiny will be sure to follow as laws catch up with the technology.

The ever-evolving mobile world is creating truly amazing new experiences and driving social change to new levels; introducing engaging and helpful ways for people to live their lives. The health app epidemic looks like it is here to stay and the mobile device will be central to improving our health; all this in the palms of our hands of the future.