The document discusses the challenges and opportunities of mHealth/mobile health applications. It notes that while enthusiasm for mHealth is high among technology companies, many past applications have failed to gain widespread adoption or engagement from users. To be successful, mHealth applications need to focus on user engagement through strategies like social support, personalization, minimizing friction, and relevance to users' everyday lives. With the right focus on engagement, mHealth could help improve health outcomes and leverage big data, but the challenges of user adoption need to be overcome for its full potential to be realized.

1. 2015: mHEALTH’S COMING
OUT PARTY… OR IS IT?
Joseph C. Kvedar, MD
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2. RECENT ENTHUSIASM FOR mHEALTH…
Apple
Samsung
Microsoft
Intel
Google
But is it irrational exuberance?
Artwork: Mark Ulriksen
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3. THOSE WHO CANNOT LEARN FROM HISTORY ARE
DOOMED TO REPEAT IT (GEORGE SANTAYANA)
• How is HealthKit different than now-defunt
Google Health?
• Samsung’s S Health (on its 3rd generation) –
adoption not strong
• Aetna discontinues CarePass August 2014
• Microsoft, Samsung, Apple betting that the
Smart Watch will be the difference
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4. TYPICAL APP STRATEGY
Give The People What They Want
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5. In Health Care That Can Result In
MISPLACED RESOURCES
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6. The People We’d Really Like To
Have As mHealth Users
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7. HEALTH APPS ARE DIFFERENT
Although 1 in 10 U.S. adults over the
age of 18 owns an activity tracker,
within 6 months one-third stops
using them.
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8. HEALTH APPS ARE DIFFERENT
More than 80% of health apps
that are downloaded are
abandoned within 2 weeks.
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9. HEALTH APPS ARE DIFFERENT
Even though we know people
need these apps, they don’t
always want them.
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10. WE CHECK OUR SMARTPHONES
>100 TIMES A DAY!
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11. BUT PUSHING A BUTTON FOR HEALTH
IMPROVEMENT IS TOO HARD
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12. The Bottom Line
DON’T CONFUSE EDUCATION
WITH INSPIRATION
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13. ENGAGEMENT IS KING
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14. TOOLS FOR ENGAGEMENT
Frictionless Technology
Social
Personalization
Relevance to Everyday Life
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15. FRICTIONLESS
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16. FRICTIONLESS
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17. FRICTIONLESS
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18. TOOLS FOR ENGAGEMENT
Social
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19. MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS TO SOCIAL
Camaraderie
Competition
Visibility
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20. SOCIAL - Camaraderie
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21. SOCIAL - Competition
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22. SOCIAL - Visibilty
DIABETES & BLOOD PRESSURE CONNECT
Average drop of HbA1c: 1.5
69% achieved a drop in BP
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23. TOOLS FOR ENGAGEMENT
Personalization
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24. PERSONALIZATION: TEXT 2 MOVE
Customized
Program Design Readiness
To Change
Connected
Health Data
Practice
Location
Analytic
Engine
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25. PERSONALIZATION: TEXT 2 MOVE
Mean change in HbA1c by engagement level
0.36
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HbA1c Change
1.08
0.62
Low engagement High Engagement All
*

26. RELEVENCE TO EVERYDAY LIFE
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27. RELEVENCE TO EVERYDAY LIFE
Subconscious Triggers
Go Where the Consumer Is
Focus on Near Term Goals
State of the Art Design
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28. SUBCONSCIOUS TRIGGERS:
SUNSCREEN REMINDERS
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
-10%
Weekly Adherence Rates (mean +/- SEM)
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6
% Adherence
Study Period
Reminder group
No Reminder Group
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Arch Dermatol. 2009;145(11):1230-1236.

29. GO WHERE THE CONSUMER IS
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30. FOCUS ON NEAR TERM GOALS
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31. STATE OF THE ART DESIGN
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32. BIG DATA, BIG OPPORTUNITY
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33. BIG DATA
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34. IMPLICATIONS
• The “give the people what they want” strategy
for consumer apps does not translate
• If we don’t get engagement right, mHealth will go
down in history as yet another tech bubble
• Some companies are doing some things right
some of the time
• This will be hard but worth the effort
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35. WAYS TO CONNECT
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The cHealth Blog:
chealthblog.connectedhealth.org
www.partners.org/connectedhealth
LinkedIn Group:
Connected Health Community
Twitter:
@connectedhealth
@jkvedar
Contact Me:
jkvedar@partners.org