Consumers Circumvent Physicians When Using Mobile Health Apps

In the absence of research on the impact of mobile technologies on health outcomes, in particular, doctors are not convinced that consumers can change health behavior or improve disease management though their use of apps.

Due to this reluctance on the part of physicians to embrace mHealth, consumers are cutting out medical professionals as they pursue mobile technology in their own pursuit of improved health results -- creating a vicious circle.

A new study, which surveyed 1,000 consumers who use or plan to use health and fitness mobile apps, found that while 70 percent of respondents use apps on a daily basis to track calorie intake and monitor physical activities, just 40 percent actually share their data and insights with their doctors.

What's more, 34 percent of mobile health and fitness app users in the survey indicated that they would increase their use of apps if their physicians actively recommended them.