Mobile Health Applications - Eight Reasons Why It Matters For Pharma
The potential of
mHealth solutions has been discussed for many years, but only recently, with
the advent of the new smartphone application based mHealth model, have pharmaceutical companies begun to realize how
mobile services might be instrumental in the development of exciting
innovations in their own businesses.
The
pharma market has always been cash-rich, as it needs to be given the investment
required to continue the research and development behind the medical advances
which have made such a difference to humanity. Nonetheless increasing pressure
from regulators, thin pipelines and the patent cliff which has seen the rise of
generics is a threat to continued prosperity. Innovative business models will
help pharmaceutical manufacturers to remain competitive amidst these
challenges.
Pharma
companies should understand that mobile applications are an innovation area
that matters. We see 8 good reasons why smartphone apps matter to pharma:
1. Potential reach: Today the smartphone and mHealth markets are still
small, but enormous growth rates will enable pharma companies to reach out to
every 5th citizen on earth in 2015.
2. Differentiation: The potential for smartphone apps to support patient
adherence and compliance makes them the ideal add-on for pharmaceutical
products. Therapy supporting pharma applications for example will not only be
providing a service, they will also differentiate their products from those
offered by the competition.
3. Facilitate improved outcomes for patients taking the company?s drugs: The success of a therapy
is dependent upon correct compliance. Mobile applications provide the opportunity
for pharmaceutical manufacturers to support patients by supplying applications
that assist patients in achieving compliance, thereby improving patient
outcomes.
4. Contemporary marketing: Physicians are already using smartphones and
tablets to access healthcare related information. For pharmaceutical companies
it would make sense to re-allocate marketing budgets spent on printed medical
reference and CME programs to applications. They cost a fraction of what
printed materials cost, are more innovative, represent a real value of less
than $5, and fit into the regulatory framework in even the strictest systems.
5. Learn how patients use their medicine: Mobile applications offer a direct channel of
communication between the manufacturer of a pharmaceutical product and the
patient. Applications provide direct usage information, which can assist in
understanding the usage habits of patients.
6. Saving costs: Smartphone apps have the potential to offer various
cost-saving areas for pharmaceutical companies. Examples would be applications
that support the exchange of results in medical trials, information on
customers that would be useful to review before meeting with them, etc.
7. Improve relations with doctors: Apps are very personal tools, more so than
websites of medical books. Visiting doctors is an essential but expensive
aspect of pharma marketing, and the opportunity to connect directly with physicians by providing a
useful app
would be a good way to create new relationships with prescribing healthcare
professionals.
8. Increasing revenue: Some mHealth solutions (like ?patient monitoring?
applications) might become the block-busters of the future, selling millions
for a subscription of $10-$20 per month, even with the price for mHealth apps
at between $5 and $10.
Please
see our ?Mobile Health Market Report 2010-2015? for more details and a detailed
discussion on business opportunities for Pharma companies based on the new
smartphone based mHealth market model.
About research2guidance:
research2guidance is a Berlin-based market research company
specialized in the mobile industry. The company?s service offerings include
comprehensive market studies, as well as bespoke research and consultancy.
Contact:
Robert
Kuersten
research2guidance
+49
30 609 893 366
robert.kuersten@research2guidance.com
Link
to ?Mobile Health Market Report 2010-2015?: http://www.research2guidance.com/shop/index.php/mhealth-report
Link
to related blog post: http://www.research2guidance.com/mhealth-apps-8-reasons-why-it-matters-for-pharma/
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