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Mobilising healthcare.

You want to answer the "When?" then let’s introduce the "How." We know how.
Written by
Don Jones
Nov 7, 2012

The question of when mHealth or eHealth technologies and solutions will see scale in Europe often comes up at many of the industry conferences I attend. As I see it, figuring out who will pay for telehealth solutions and how to overcome regulatory hurdles as well as the challenges of wireless interoperability are in the past. The pieces are now in place for mHealth to take off in Europe.

Globally, Europe has the highest burden of chronic diseases, which are responsible for 86% of all deaths, and €700 billion a year is being spent on treating these chronic diseases.1 Most of us are aware of the heavy burden healthcare is placing on the economy and the health of populations. What many people are unaware of is the amount of work that’s already been done in Europe to advance the field of mHealth.

Since 1989, EU research funding for eHealth overall has exceeded €1 billion spanning more than 500 eHealth projects.2 More recently, the UK Department of Health launched the 3MillionLives initiative to transform healthcare service delivery for people with chronic conditions or social care needs, by utilising telehealth and telecare. To date, it is the largest telehealth and telecare pilot program in the world.

But that’s not all. A recent GSMA report indicated that in early 2012, there were over 44 mHealth related projects in Europe either in pilot stage or live.3 Multiple pilots and trials have already been conducted and proven out the positive financial and clinical outcomes of implementing telehealth and mHealth solutions. The medical and wireless technologies are here. And the opportunity for mhealth in Europe is expected to reach €5.3 billion in 2017.4

The answer to “when?” is now. And the opportunity is huge.

Check out the infographic below for more stats on why Europe is not only ready, but ripe for wireless healthcare innovations.

For more information on Qualcomm Life and our 2net Platform, an end-to-end solution for connecting devices and liberating biometric data so that it becomes ubiquitous across the continuum of care, please visit QualcommLife.com; and for the latest updates from me, follow my Twitter handle @DJonesQualcomm, or leave me a note here.

1 European Union Health Policy Forum. Answer to DG SANCO Consultation on Chronic Diseases. January 2012. (http://ec.europa.eu/health/interest_groups/docs/euhpf_answer_consultation_jan2012_en.pdf)

2 Abadie A, Codagnone C, van Lieshout M, Pascu C, Baum P, et. al. Strategic Intelligence Monitor on Personal Health Systems (SIMPHS): Market Structure and Innovation Dynamics. European Commission Joint Research Centre and Institute for Prospective Technological Studies. 2011.

3 OECD, European Union. Health Expenditure In Relation To GDP. Health at a Glance: Europe 2010. December 2010. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264090316-43-en)

4 PricewaterhouseCoopers. Touching Lives Through Mobile Health. Assessment of the Global Market Opportunity. GSMA. February 2012.

Opinions expressed in the content posted here are the personal opinions of the original authors, and do not necessarily reflect those of Qualcomm Incorporated or its subsidiaries ("Qualcomm"). The content is provided for informational purposes only and is not meant to be an endorsement or representation by Qualcomm or any other party. This site may also provide links or references to non-Qualcomm sites and resources. Qualcomm makes no representations, warranties, or other commitments whatsoever about any non-Qualcomm sites or third-party resources that may be referenced, accessible from, or linked to this site.

About the Author
Don Jones
Don JonesVice President, Global Strategy and Market Development Qualcomm Life
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