Health IT, Pharma

What’s pharma’s impact on the mobile health app space? These 3 graphs offer some clues

As pharmaceutical companies offer healthcare services that go beyond the pill, a report by HIT […]

As pharmaceutical companies offer healthcare services that go beyond the pill, a report by HIT Consultant with graphs from Pocket.MD has helpfully added some color on the biggest mobile health app developers among pharmaceutical companies. They chart the number of medical apps big pharma companies have produced. The report also calls attention to conditions that have captured the most attention in the mobile health space.

Bayer, Merck and Novartis top the list. Many of them are designed as companion apps for drugs and devices. An app that is available in several languages could also account for some of the relatively high numbers. Some areas of app development Bayer has covered include helping multiple sclerosis patients manage their meds, recording hemophilia A factor VIII infusions and monitoring diet, particularly for people with diabetes. Among the apps Novartis produced are tools for managing cystic fibrosis. Novartis’ oncology division produced a few apps too, such as My Acro Manager to help patients with Acromegaly track test results, medication updates and improve their knowledge of their condition. Medication adherence apps and a tool to track symptoms from HIV treatment are among Merck’s apps.

Availability for those apps varies, depending on the country.

Consumer trends are helping to push this app trend by pharma companies. A consumer survey by Accenture showed a little less than half want to connect with a pharma company via a mobile app.

 

 

As for the breakdown of apps by use, most are for healthcare professionals. Diabetes leads all other conditions but that’s not surprising given the interest in reducing the costs associated with the disease, especially complications that can lead to hospitalization. But the cardiovascular, oncology and asthma conditions highlighted in this graph show an industry that’s recognized the value these applications can deliver for patients as well as physicians. I would have thought pregnancy and baby care would be more closely aligned, though.

 

The impact of the iOS network in the healthcare space is underlined here, too. More than half of physicians said they were integrating tablets in their practice, most of them iPads, a survey last year revealed. About 75 percent of physicians said they owned some form of Apple device, according to a survey. It’s interesting to see that Blackberry continues to have a presence in medical apps, however minimal that may be.

Shares0
Shares0