Mobile-based Digital Healthcare Platforms: Smart Wellness

Abstract

Background This research aims to examine the status of Smart Wellness that the current digital healthcare platforms promote and to suggest the developmental potentials of the digital healthcare industry especially in the recent trend. Methods Three healthcare platforms that have organized their own mobile device-based ecologies, namely Apple Health, Google Fit, and Samsung Health, were selected for analyses. Through a comprehensive literature review of academic research and up-to-date technical knowledge, the features specific to each platform were examined. Results The results of the analyses of Apple Health, Google Fit, and Samsung are as follow. First, Apple Health is specialized in basic health management functions. Second, Google Fit and Samsung Health have better functions in encouraging certain movements and activities of users. Third, the three health platforms support multi-sided platform services to draw novel value connections. Fourth, the three health platforms enable interlocking between smart devices and apps. Fifth, the three health platforms aim to expand their services to more healthcare-related services. Conclusions Based on the results of Smart Wellness analyses, four developmental potentials of the mobile-based digital healthcare platforms are suggested. First, the services from different platforms would be interoperable to provide more customized services. Second, accelerating the advancement of wearable devices, smart wellness would provide people with more professional health care. Third, they would be developed into the user-led health management platforms. Fourth, smart wellness could also be associated with the smart medical and smart silver services.