LIVE FROM GSMA-mHA MOBILE HEALTH SUMMIT: Lyse Brillouet, Head of Strategy and Marketing for Orange Healthcare, this morning highlighted the four “next steps” the mobile health industry needs to take in order to increase the penetration of services globally. However, she also noted that due to the diverse ecosystem present in the mobile health sector, “the fact is that today the competitive environment is so complex, that it is quite hard for a worldwide player to find robust business models for mHealth solutions.”
 
According to Brillouet, the industry needs to work with health players to increase “empowerment and endorsement,” to guarantee a “real jump” in the adoption of new healthcare delivery models.  Also, there needs to be convergence among the enabling infrastructure through the cloud, to guarantee shared network capabilities between various ecosystem participants. Interoperability, standardisation and normalisation will also be key components to guarantee scalability and widespread adoption of mobile health solutions. And finally, it is necessary to educate consumer markets, to guarantee their willingness to pay for customised and secured health solutions – with full respect for customer privacy.
 
Echoing a theme discussed by other participants at the event, Brillouet noted the distinct needs for mobile healthcare solutions for developed and emerging markets. The core difference was highlighted as “efficiency, versus access,” respectively. “What we observe in the EU is that we have to join mobile services to fixed infrastructures. In emerging countries, for example, we create infrastructures starting from huge mobile investments.”
 
“The road is bumpy, but we are on our way,” she concluded.