Developing a Framework for Evaluating the Patient Engagement, Quality, and Safety of Mobile Health Applications

A report from the Commonwealth Fund

From the Commonwealth Fund report Background section:

"Growing evidence suggests that health care is more efficient and effective when patients are actively engaged in their treatment.¹ Engaged, or activated, patients collaborate with their providers, are treated with respect and dignity, receive information related to their care, and are involved in decision-making.² Two separate reviews commissioned by the Institute of Medicine and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that chronic disease self-management and promotion of patient engagement are essential to successful care management programs targeting patients with high needs and high costs and are associated with improved quality of life, functional autonomy, and decreased hospital use.³

Mobile health applications, or apps, designed for smartphones can help empower high-need, high-cost patients to self-manage their health.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans now own smartphones, and ownership is rising among older adults (27%) and those with low household incomes (50%).⁴ Moreover, community health centers and clinics perceive mobile health technologies as an ideal tool to engage their patient populations in chronic disease management.⁵

In this issue brief, we describe criteria for evaluating mobile apps for high-need, high-cost populations based on their potential to improve patient engagement and on their quality and safety. We then discuss results of our efforts to test and refine those criteria using a sample of apps available through the Apple iOS and Android app stores."