Healthcare Smartens Up with Smartphones [Infographic]

The prevailing health mantra used to be “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Today, an app a day is more likely to bring the doctor closer than ever.

With more than 40,000 health-related apps available for smartphones and tablets, according to Mashable, health on the go is a trend that’s taking off.

Alliedhealthworld.com recently published an infographic that reveals how smartphones may be leading to smarter healthcare.

So far this year, 247 million people have downloaded a health app to do everything from checking nearby pollen levels to monitoring blood pressure. That’s nearly double the number of people who downloaded health apps last year.

Mobile health, or mHealth as some call it, has gone from a great idea to an influential industry. In fact, the global revenue from mobile apps related to healthcare is expected to reach an estimated $11.8 billion by 2018. As it stands now, the global revenue from healthcare apps is $1.2 billion, with an estimated $660 million coming from the United States.

The 4th annual mHealth Summit is scheduled to take place in Washington, DC, on December 3–5, 2012, and is expected to include 4, 500 leaders from business, finance, policy, and healthcare.

Until then, check out the full infographic below to learn more about the rise of mHealth.