GSMA Partners To Promote Mobile Health

The GSMA announced a partnership on 15 Feb. with with the Continua Health Alliance, a non-profit, open industry organisation of healthcare and technology companies, to promote innovation and drive the use of embedded mobile solutions in healthcare.

The two organisations plan to develop interoperability for connected devices and create a scalable and viable market for mobile health. They will jointly work on standardisation processes in both the mobile and healthcare sectors, providing guidelines to allow mobility in mobile devices, and jointly promote mobile health-related activities.

McKinsey, a global management consultancy, and the GSMA predict the healthcare industry could see approximately $175-200 billion (£127bn) in annual cost savings for managing chronic diseases in OCED and BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries.

According to the GMSA, the mobile industry can contribute substantially to improving the accessibility of healthcare systems around the world, as well as helping to reduce costs, by providing solutions to diagnose disease, monitor patient health and intervene ahead of acute events. “The global potential for connected devices is huge – it’s more than just mobile phones and laptop PCs. It can be anything that has a mobile connection embedded in it such as a camera, a music player, a car, a smart meter or a health monitor,” Alex Sinclair, chief technology and strategy officer at the GSMA. “Reducing the cost of innovative healthcare solutions, lowering carbon emissions and substantially improving energy efficiency are just some of the significant societal benefits connected devices will provide the world over.”