Two Additional Reasons Why Health App Adoption is Bound to Grow

The Population Health Blog is avidly learning about health apps for patients. 

As described here, half of U.S adults now own a smartphone, half of them use them to obtain health information and approximately a fifth have at least one health app loaded on their device. 

Regular PHB readers are well aware of the potential for health apps, including lay-person education, the promotion of consumer behavior change, increased consumer-provider connectivity with greater access to care, better medication compliance as well as medication reconciliation, increased self-care, greater quality and lower costs.

But as the PHB's e-health experience grows, it's encountered two under-recognized features of apps that - in its opinion -  are sure to also drive their adoption:

1. The Provider App Arms Race:  As  competition for loyal patients grows, health systems, care organizations, insurers, buyers and provider networks are going to expect their apps to create greater consumer "stickiness."  For example, offering a tablet with a pre-configured app may enable hospitals to not only reduce readmissions, but enhance their brand recognition.

2. The App Is the Outcome: It will take years for science to prove that apps cause better outcomes. While lingering skepticism will prove to be another bonanza for outfits like this, the luster of smart-device gadgetry will be too much to resist. As a result, it's only a matter of time until Boards and their CEOs pressure their management teams to launch their own app.  While the electronic record and big data are important advances, let's face it: they're in the background. There's nothing like a patient-facing app to remind customers, families and providers of the organization's health tech chops.

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