Mobile health (mHealth) solutions can improve access to health information and services for underserved populations and generate cost efficiencies and improve the capacity of health systems to provide quality health services (World Health Organization, 2011). Due to these potential benefits, many countries embrace mHealth approaches to strengthen their health systems and mHealth is often regarded as a game-changing practice for improving health (World Health Organization, 2011). mHealth can transform patient care and provide better access to essential health information (e.g. from tracking fitness achievements to allowing real-time remote consultations with physicians) (Lindgardt et al., 2014).

Before further discussion of mHealth and health applications, clarification of the most common terminology in this field is required.

The term mHealth is often used interchangeably with eHealth, which is not entirely accurate as mHealth represents a subdomain of eHealth (World Health Organization, 2011). According to the definitions provided by the WHO, eHealth is defined as “the cost-effective and secure use of information and communications technologies in support of health and health-related fields, including health care services, health surveillance, health literature, and health education, knowledge and research” (World Health Organization, 2021). At the same time, WHO’s definition of mHealth is “the use of mobile phones and other wireless technologies to support the achievement of health objectives” (World Health Organization, 2011). Therefore, mHealth is just a sub-component of the larger field of eHealth.

Another term related to mHealth is uHealth, which uses ubiquitous technology for health care and health promotion. Ubiquitous technology refers to devices embedded with processors, such as mobile devices, enabling them to connect to the Internet. Examples of such devices are smartwatches, tablets, smartphones, other activity trackers, and biometric or wearable devices (Davies & Mueller, 2020). Since trackers are involved in medical objects (e.g. in hospital beds to show real-time availability of beds), mHealth is also connected to the telemedicine field, sometimes overlapping. Telemedicine is defined as the “use of information and communication technologies to facilitate access to medical care and information”. It uses video calls, voice calls, text and multimedia messages, and e-mails for medical consultation and communication (World Health Organization, 2010).

Another term that is used synonymously with eHealth is health informatics. Health informatics usually refers to the “generation, management, analysis, interpretation and communication of health data” (Davies & Mueller, 2020). This can be achieved by using Information Communication Technology (ICT), which facilitates the usage of information and the sharing of knowledge by electronic means (Moss et al., 2019). Usually, ICT encompasses everything from the Internet, computers, servers, teleconference systems, radios, televisions, landline telephones, telemedicine devices, mobile telephones and other wireless devices (Moss et al., 2019).

A visual representation of how these topics are connected in the field of digital health can be found in the figure below.

Used terminology

Source: (Davies & Mueller, 2020)



Last modified: Saturday, 4 February 2023, 3:20 AM