Mobile healthcare delivery: A dynamic environment where healthcare, mobile technology, engineering, and individual lifestyles converge

Abstract

Advances in mobile healthcare delivery systems that are accessible from any location and at any time are converging towards a revolutionary paradigm shift for all stakeholders. This paradigm shift and heightened interest are due to a number of factors including the rising cost of healthcare, the cost of chronic illness, growth in the elderly population, desire for more home-based monitoring, and the availability of mobile technology and the associated advanced communication network infrastructure. This article evaluates the efficacy of using mobile technologies such as mobile phones, Zigbee, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), along with health and activity monitoring devices, to reshape the delivery of healthcare from a static, centralized approach, to a decentralized, dynamic, and mobile process. This research paper validates the important role these technologies can play in bending the healthcare cost curve in a positive direction while improving patient outcomes through customized alignment with the patient's lifestyle.