LIVE FROM GSMA-mHA MOBILE HEALTH SUMMIT: Mischa Kay, Manager at the Global Observatory for eHealth at the World Health Organisation, called for a “more strategic approach to planning, development and evaluation to increase the impact of mHealth, and also prove that mHealth does work,” in his keynote address this morning. According to Kay, globally just 12 percent of respondents to a wide-ranging survey said that they are doing any formal evaluation of their m-health work, with Europe and the Americas leading the way in this respect. In contrast, in areas such as Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, there is “some way to develop.”
 
Kay highlighted some of the main barriers to the adoption of m-health services. The option most selected by respondents was conflicting health priorities, followed by a lack of knowledge and policy-related issues. However, it was also noted that currently there are some question marks over whether m-health services can be cost effective, and the cost of operating services.

Encouragingly, mobile health services do seem to have gained significant traction internationally, whether on a pilot or commercial basis. Kay said that just 17 percent of the 112 respondents to the WHO’s survey had no involvement in mHealth, with the remaining 83 percent having at least one project underway. Of those that were acting, most were in the “1—9” category, but almost one third have ten or more initiatives in place.
 
In order to drive the adoption of mHealth services globally, the WHO and its partners are set to develop a site on global mHealth best practices, based on national and local experiences. This will include evaluation information, methodologies and cost-benefit analyses, to enable stakeholders to accurately assess the available knowledge. The WHO is also working with the ITU to create a national eHealth development toolkit, which will be released before the end of the year.