Let’s be very clear:
> Diabetes is the 4th most common cause of death in Europe.
> Annual healthcare spend on Diabetes in Europe reached €89 Billion in 2012.
> EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes has called for an end of the waiting room with claims that “With mHealth alone, Europe could save €99 billion in healthcare a year in 2017″.
Key takeaways:
Governments need to think about the adoption of mHealth for more than just efficiency gains, cost savings or the maintenance of quality.
> Governments need to recognise that the 2000 year old model of healthcare is broken forever and the problem we have now is that 70% of healthcare spending is on chronic illness and the old ‘see me in 6 months and we’ll see what’s going on’ model no longer works and the opportunity is in engaging Patients in managing their own chronic illnesses.
> Governments need to recognise that the digital divide is further isolating the people who are most socially and economically disadvantaged, that it’s time we looked beyond trying to teach seniors to use PCs and moved onto the opportunity to use Mobiles that are designed to meet their needs and recognised that just as loneliness can be deadly for the elderly joining the mobile generation can be life saving (Please help someone you love to fall in love with SMS).
> Healthcare Providers need to recognise that their employees didn’t have mHealth tech available when they learnt their clinical skills and so it’s critically important that we don’t just buy in tech in the hope that it will be used effectively. We need to dedicate resources to training so that healthcare professionals understand the need for mHealth adoption and the opportunity it provides them to advance the care of their Patients.