With the advancement of mobile technology in healthcare, mHealth or healthcare through mobile devices is becoming a global reality. The lower costs, immediacy and widespread availability of mobile technology are changing the way patients receive their care, making healthcare faster, better.

The concept of mobile patient portals is gaining importance by leaps and bounds. The success of the Blue Button Initiative and the requirement of Meaningful Use Stage 2 of the EHR Incentive Programs have contributed in the success of mHealth largely. According to the research group Frost & Sullivan, the US patient portal market is expecting 200 percent growth in the next four to five years. Currently, the earned revenue of patient portal for hospitals and physicians is worth $279.8 million and expected to surge to $898.4 million in 2017.

With the increasing need of engaging patients in their own healthcare, approximately 50 percent of U.S. hospitals and 40 percent of U.S. physicians are using some type of patient portal technology, mostly acquired as a module of their practice management (PM) or electronic health record (EHR) system. The patient portal technology has proved to be the key platform for various activities, which involve patient engagement through access to medical records, communication with providers, education, wellness tracking and e-visits.

The Digital Medication Monitoring adoption and active use is increasingly higher across the U.S., driven by Stage 2 MU requirements. These requirements were scheduled to begin in October 2013 for hospitals and January 2014 for physicians. Stage 2 MU requires providers to adopt and use technology that allows patients to electronically view, download and transmit electronic copies of their own medical records. In addition, providers that adopt mobile patient portals will enjoy a competitive advantage as patients increasingly demand convenient, 24/7 access to their financial and clinical data.

As healthcare reform and transformation advances, providers seek new ways to engage patients and influence their psychology with much more advanced solutions. The use of mobile patient portal has proved to be motivating patient engagement and sustaining change in their behaviour. The use of mobile technology at Accountable Care Organization to access health applications is expected to reach 96 million users in the coming years. Findings suggest that the healthcare reforms, which also involve remote patient monitoring could translate into $35 billion in savings for providers.

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