Figures release by UK research firm Mobilesquared show that over 8.7 million users in the UK are interested in paying via mobile phone for medical prescriptions issued by their doctors. The figures are generated by the firm’s new Mobile Healthcare Trends database.  Mobilesquared also says almost 40 million UK users would welcome some kind of health-related services available via their mobile devices.  The firm calculates the value of prescriptions paid by mobile phone is £1.14 billion annually, equivalent to 13 percent of the total annual prescription spend in the UK of £9 billion.

The firm has also come up with a number of predictions for future take-up of health-related mobile services. It says that the number of 25-34 years old who would welcome appointment reminders via their mobile device is 9.5 million (Q3 2012). The demand for the same service among an older demographic (55-64 years old) is unsurprisingly lower at 6.6 million (Q4 2012).