Can smartphones help deliver smarter care for patients with inflammatory bowel disease?

Abstract

The addition of smartphone applications to the armamentarium of tools to help manage patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has the potential to improve care in multiple ways, including enhanced disease understanding, improved adherence to medications, accessible support networks, and earlier interventions by medical professionals when problems arise. However, at present, for patients with IBD, the development of such mobile applications is still in its infancy. We conducted a review of the literature and online resources including phone application stores (Apple and Android app stores) to assess the current availability of mobile health applications for IBD patients and opportunities to increase patient engagement. We also addressed the limitations and challenges of patient and provider adoption of mobile-based technologies for IBD self-management and remote monitoring.