mHealth may be widespread but the majority of activity is in early stages or pilots, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) latest report released Tuesday during the mHealth Alliance’s Global Health Summit in Cape Town, South Africa. The report analyzed data from 112 countries and 14 mHealth activity types. According to the survey:
- 83% of the responding countries use mobile phones to support at least one health activity.
- Two-thirds of those countries reported between one and three activities – but only 12% are evaluating their mHealth activities
- The four most frequently reported mHealth initiatives were health call centres (59%), emergency toll-free telephone services (55%), managing emergencies and disasters (54%), and mobile telemedicine (49%)
mHealth New Horizons, Global Observatory for eHealth Series, Vol. 3: UN Dispatch press release, full study (PDF).