The spread of the coronavirus has compelled all countries to examine the possibilities provided by modern technology to tackle the pandemic. Scientists and developers are focusing on utilizing technology to save lives, particularly during the pandemic. The silent transmission of coronavirus – caused by asymptomatic persons has been a serious worry in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Using mHealth technology such as mobile applications and wearable sensors to monitor COVID-19 patients and suspected cases, which can help to reduce the pandemic’s impact, is a good strategy to minimize the pandemic’s impact.
Understanding mHealth —
mHealth, when bifurcated stands for mobile health. In layman’s terms, mHealth is the process of providing health care and medication with the help of mobile technologies such as computers, mobile phones, and tablets. The mHealth technology performs activities including collecting vital signs, providing information to physicians, and allowing remote examinations with the help of tablets, mobile phones, and other portable devices.
Mobile health technology is extremely helpful especially in rural places where physicians and nurses may not be available to offer care to the patients. Doctors and nurses operating in these remote locations rely on mHealth for up-to-date medical information, as well as sharing the information with the relevant authorities nearby. Mobile health technology also allows medical students and residents working in distant regions to receive faster training and instruction during health emergencies.
Besides, the COVID-19 pandemic has jolted everyone to an extent that people are overcautious towards their wellbeing. The fear of infection has driven the use of apps and wearables as a way to make people feel safer. With the ever-evolving technology, wearables can now provide reliable input on blood pressure, body temperature, and health signs, which is ultimately restoring people’s sense of relief while also assisting them in tracking their health.
Let’s take you through some examples of mHealth apps which have been imperative during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is believed that the inclusion of key components in mHealth might assist in diagnosis or symptom reporting that can be extremely crucial for infection management. Furthermore, the integration of essential epidemiological data and geographic information on transmittable diseases in a region would allow for case tracking, which can be utilized as an effective tool to prevent infection transmission. These types of mHealth apps can be more successful in delivering health-related information since data can be transmitted quickly and dynamically. During the first global wave of COVID-19 in the first quarter of 2020. Scientists and app developers came together to prevent the spread of coronavirus and developed several apps that were available universally to be accessible via smartphones.
A few of these apps are listed below:
| Application Name | Features |
| Apple COVID-19 | The app has up-to-date information from trusted sources about the coronavirus disease that is impacting people across the world. It is a simple screening tool to determine what you should do if you are concerned about COVID-19. |
| HEALTHLYNKED COVID-19 Tracker | It is a Covid-19 tracker app that allows users to self-report symptoms, if they test positive for the virus, alert contacts so that they can seek medical care to prevent spread. |
| Aarogya Setu | The app was developed by the Government of India to track COVID-19 at the personal and country level. The app also includes the initiatives and updates from the country’s health department regarding the pandemic. |
| Coronavirus Australia | The app was launched by the Australian government to advise and keep its nationals up to date with official information. |
| Canada COVID-19 | The app was designed to keep the local population informed about COVID-19 in Canada. It also provides timely updates and important news and alerts from Canada’s Ministry of Health. |
The above mentioned are a few of the most notable apps which were launched during the first global wave of coronavirus. There have been thousands of apps launched including self-monitoring apps that can notify the user of their health status during the pandemic. Moreover, a report by Grand View Research states that the Covid-19 pandemic has led to the increased utilization of mHealth applications across the globe. The upsurge in remote patient monitoring, patient data analysis, and diagnosis is the major factor boosting the adoption of these applications.
How mHealth is helping Health Workers, tackling COVID-19
The pandemic has posed enormous hurdles to countries with poor healthcare systems since many healthcare systems throughout the world are cracking under the weight of COVID-19. Hence, it becomes imperative to leverage technology to help our health care workers.
Let’s discuss through some points how mHealth is proving vital for health care workers during COVID-19:
- The primary purpose for mHealth in assisting health care workers is in recording and logging cases, as well as providing contact tracing, all this when they are supervised and outfitted with suitable personal protective equipment.
- Another role that mHealth plays is providing education, training, and supervision to health care workers. With the ever-changing information related to the COVID-19 due to virus mutations, the healthcare workers are required to be updated with the changing symptoms and advisories provided by the government.
How mHealth is assisting in the fight against COVID-19?
- Practicing Social Distancing while treating the patients affected with coronavirus:
Key global authorities is advocating to reduce physical contact between healthcare workers and patients. It is advised to adopt telehealth services unless it is really important. This would help in reducing the transmission rate of COVID-19.
- Crowdsourced Health Information App:
The app developers along with health professionals are developing coronavirus tracing applications that run on crowdsourced information. People from all over the world enter their information – travel routes, the likelihood of becoming infected, and so on – so that healthcare experts can track hotspots and carriers.
- The rising use of healthcare gadgets:
The impact of COVID-19 on the mHealth sector has been impactful. The healthcare gadget market saw a steep rise during the rise of cases globally. People started using applications and wearing masks because they were afraid of being sick. They became aware of their body temperature and health indicators. They began to rely on apps for health screening and awareness. Many companies introduced several healthcare gadgets to reduce anxiety while making consumers aware of their health.
- The use of AI in medical apps to track and diagnose COVID-19 outbreak:
AI can use demographics, travel, and infection data to estimate where an illness might spread and how quickly it will spread. This information is used by healthcare institutions and governments to act rapidly to contain the spread. Significant mHealth advancements, along with the help of AI and ML apps to screen people and estimate infection risks, have made AI a crucial contribution to recognizing, tracking, and diagnosing epidemics.
What will happen to mHealth in the Post-Covid-19 Era?
Medical communications, such as the treatment of several non-communicable illnesses or the provision of primary care, will be remembered in the post-COVID-19 era. With the adoption of digital health as the new normal during the COVID-19, the world has witnessed a tremendous influence on the global digital health business.
New technologies such as AI, IoT, 5G, video conferencing, and others will strengthen the post-pandemic era to let us all connect with healthcare professionals from across the world in whole new ways. All of this is already happening in real-time in this worldwide epidemic, and at an unimaginable speed.
The adoption of precision health, both in customized and predictive health settings, would be another important change that we will observe in the post-COVID-19 era. We will see how digital technology is being used to enable people to manage their own lives.
Furthermore, in the future, we will realize that the new world of medical infrastructure is extremely different from the one we are currently accustomed to. It would necessitate us to being open to adapt the change.
Finally, one thing is for sure. The mHealth sector is growing at a significant pace, and the change and growth in the mHealth world is going to bring a lot of positive changes to the healthcare sector.
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