Worldwide Survey Shows Dr./Smartphone Interaction is a Go!
80% of smartphone users surveyed would rather receive medical advice on mobile devices instead of going to the doctor’s office.
FICO conducted a survey of 2,239 adult smartphone users from the UK, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Turkey and the U.S. which analyzed how consumers prefer to interact with healthcare providers on mobile devices, online and in-person.
Hands down the doctor/patient interaction via smartphone was their preference. Consultations and annual wellness visits are becoming mainstream in the integrative healthcare world where homeopaths have been practicing via telecommunications systems for years. Accessibility to a provider of natural healthcare is enhanced by the ubiquitous technology available to consumers. We see children in Tibet on a mountaintop with cell phones. Rural inhabitants with little or no access to a medical provider now have a means to communicate and receive treatment over the smartphone.
Licensed practitioners have a challenge to meet in overcoming the hurdle of State Medical Boards allowing doctors to treat only those patients who reside in the State in which the Doctor is licensed. While talks are underway for a Bill to allow MD’s to practice across State lines, it has not yet come to fruition.
Integrative healthcare providers who do not need to be licensed, but whom are nationally certified in their specialty, such as homeopaths, may consult with anyone, anywhere using smartphones. Information prescriptions that provide natural medicine advice along with diet and lifestyle counseling are taking the lead in the prevention and health promotion realm. According to Stuart Wells, FICO’s chief product and technology officer, “People are especially interested in mobile services that can help them manage their personal health… ”
The leading health care providers in this sector are those who provide integrative healthcare services via telecommunications that frequently engage the consumer with current healthcare advice, reminders of personal health risks, and effective strategies for staying healthy thus avoiding ANY need to “see” the doctor.
Making healthcare about HEALTH , the promotion and maintenance thereof, is the paradigm shift that smartphone users are bringing about on the World stage.