Global mHealth App Market Insights: IMS Health Releases Comprehensive Report on Adoption, Trends, and Clinical Integration

IMS Health, a leading global provider of information, services, and technology for the healthcare sector, recently released a research report presenting a comprehensive survey on public acceptance and awareness of foreign medical apps. These apps primarily focus on assisting patients with self-health management, disease prevention, and chronic disease management. With the widespread adoption of smartphones and the continuous growth in mobile internet users, the medical app sector is experiencing a period of robust prosperity.

Since 2013, the majority of healthcare apps have focused on areas such as health, diet, and exercise, with only one-quarter dedicated to disease management and treatment. However, half of these apps offer limited functionality, primarily providing information consultation services. One-tenth of the apps are integrated with smart wearable devices or sensor hardware to collect more accurate data. Apps linked to social media features have seen an 8% growth. The vast majority of apps are still selected by users without physician guidance. This trend is reflected in the fact that just 36 apps account for 50% of total downloads, while 40% of apps have fewer than 5,000 downloads.

Physicians’ interest in mobile health apps continues to grow, with more than one-third recommending apps to patients, albeit after rigorous assessment of their quality and safety. Over the past two years, some physicians have made it a routine practice to “prescribe” apps alongside conventional treatments. This trend is expected to become even more pronounced, as value-based evaluation criteria and the quantification of chronic disease management outcomes increasingly rely on app integration.

The number of healthcare apps has doubled over the past two years, as shown in the figure below.(Note: The following images are all sourced from the original figures in IMS Health reports, or compiled from the content of the original reports.)：

Based on user composition, these apps can be divided into two major categories: one is health and wellness, such as exercise and diet; the other is disease management and therapeutic intervention, such as medication reminders. The former accounts for two-thirds, comprising fitness, lifestyle habits, psychological stress, dieting, and nutrition. Disease treatment and management apps account for one-quarter, including those for specific diseases.


Among disease-specific mobile applications, those targeting chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and mental health disorders are the most prevalent. The table below presents the top five disease categories in 2015, namely mental health, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, and neurological disorders.


As can be seen from the table above, mental health apps account for nearly one-third of the market, covering conditions such as autism, anxiety and depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and Alzheimer’s disease. It is projected that by 2025, autism spectrum disorders will cost the United States approximately $461 billion, a burden more severe than that of stroke, hypertension, and diabetes.

As more apps enter the market, comprehensive health management apps—featuring functionalities such as medication reminders and communication with physicians regarding diagnostic results—will be increasingly favored. These apps aim to monitor and assist users in managing their health, rather than merely providing information access and medical education.

APP Function Categories:
1. Announcements: Provide information in various formats, such as text, photos, and videos;
2. Guidance: Provide information to users;
3. Record Category: Stores and records data entered by users;
4. Display Category: Visually presents user-input data in the form of charts;
5. Guidance Category: Provide diagnostic recommendations or refer patients to physicians for treatment based on user-input data
6. Reminder: Provide reminders to users
7. Communication: Facilitating Two-Way Interaction Between Doctors and Patients

In the health sector, two of the top three apps are linked to hardware devices, enabling automatic data collection and reflecting users’ growing preference for smart hardware. Leading diet and nutrition apps offer similar functionalities, such as calculating calorie expenditure, tracking workouts, and recording body weight. The following apps have all received high user ratings and incorporate social features, which play a crucial role in weight-loss-related applications.

The renowned disease and treatment management medical apps, as rated by AppScript, are shown in the figure below. In medical treatment, improving medication adherence is crucial. Various functions, such as managing physicians’ instructions, scheduling daily tests, submitting prescriptions to pharmacies, and comparing drug prices, can be performed via these apps. The top five disease-specific apps primarily focus on chronic disease management (such as diabetes), cardiovascular diseases, and mental health disorders. Additionally, accurate data collection for metrics like blood pressure and electrocardiograms (ECG) requires connectivity with smart devices.

In fact, the FDA also recognizes that apps can improve patient health and enhance patients’ ability to manage their health, and obtaining FDA clearance is critical for app operators. Examples of FDA evaluations include assessing the potential health impacts if users fail to follow the app’s instructions or do not properly integrate with connected smart devices. The FDA has also issued a draft guidance outlining requirements for devices and apps to improve accuracy, compatibility, privacy, and quality standards.
Statistics show that 10% of apps are connected to smart hardware. There are two methods for recording data through devices: manual entry and automatic upload. For the elderly, automatic data upload is the optimal approach. These apps primarily focus on blood glucose and blood pressure management. Although doctors have been slower than patients to adopt such apps, their growing popularity is an unstoppable trend. In addition, diet and fitness apps paired with smart wearable devices are also widely popular.

The most popular fitness app on the market is MapMyFitness, acquired by Under Armour, which claims to track more than 400 different physical activities. The app also integrates with MyFitnessPal, a calorie-counting application. Prominent companies in the smart hardware sector include Withings and Fitbit.

Innovations in this field are also emerging one after another, with corresponding hardware solutions appearing for fitness, stress relief, and chronic disease monitoring. This sector is expected to continue its accelerated development.


The top ten hardware devices primarily focus on chronic disease management, such as heart disease and blood pressure monitoring, while also offering features for diabetes management and stress control.
Among the 282 devices surveyed, only 15% have received FDA approval, with just 5% of health-tracking devices approved. In contrast, 75% of ECG monitors and 100% of blood glucose meters have obtained FDA approval. Clearly, health-tracking devices, being non-medical in nature, are not subject to regulations as stringent as those for ECG or blood glucose monitoring devices.

Among wearable devices, more than half are worn on the wrist, 23% on the chest, and 17% are portable, such as being carried in wallets or pockets, or attached to shoes. Nearly 90% of these devices can automatically collect data in real time and transmit it to the cloud for analysis. The number of ear-worn devices is growing, with a common emphasis on unobtrusive placement while meeting the requirements for monitoring physiological parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and blood oxygen saturation.


Regarding app pricing, 90% of apps remain free to download. This figure obviously excludes the cost of devices, such as health trackers, which users must purchase separately. Statistics show that in 2015, only one-third of apps required the separate purchase of sensors. Over the past two years, app prices have doubled, rising from $1–$2. Furthermore, fewer than 4% of apps are priced under $3, while the number of apps priced above $10 is increasing.

The most expensive apps are those designed for special needs, including applications for treating autism and providing Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Among the top 20 most expensive apps, all are priced above $150, with 75% targeting these conditions. Highly customizable AAC apps offer powerful features such as eye-tracking, complex sound filtering, and additional premium options for users; however, these extra features come at a significant cost. Currently, governments and insurance providers do not offer subsidies for tablets or non-specialized speech devices. Therefore, the future direction for customizable apps is to offer optional add-on features while gradually reducing costs and ensuring compatibility with most tablets and smartphones.



The most popular apps with over 10 million downloads are listed below, most of which fall into the health, fitness, and diet categories:

Physicians’ recommendations of apps to patients can be categorized into several major types, such as health information inquiry and appointment scheduling. Among these, health and disease management accounts for 85%, primarily covering diet, fitness, smoking cessation, and mental health.

Furthermore, mental health apps account for the vast majority, while apps with higher user retention rates (over 30 days) are predominantly fitness and exercise-oriented. The growing market for wearable devices further corroborates the reasons behind the higher retention rates of such apps. User retention rates are shown in the figure below:

The Top 5 Apps Most Recommended by Doctors to Patients Include Those for Smoking Cessation, Calorie Tracking, Weight Loss, Daily Step Counting, and Monitoring Addiction and Mood:


What Are the Roles of Apps in Clinical Treatment? They Can Be Categorized Into: Treatment, Prevention, Adjunctive Therapy, Monitoring, Medical Research, and Others.
A survey of approximately 2,000 users of medical apps revealed that 53% were elderly individuals, followed by adults.

Although most physicians recognize the value of medical apps—such as improving clinical outcomes, reducing healthcare costs, and helping patients enhance their health status—and acknowledge that integrating app data with Electronic Health Records (EHRs) can better facilitate doctor-patient communication, support personalized management, prevention, and follow-up services, significant practical barriers remain.
Hospitals remain cautious, and current policies and medical protocols are outdated, failing to keep pace with the evolving landscape of internet healthcare. This hesitation stems primarily from the rapid advancement of network technologies and a lack of clear objectives, despite the fact that some pioneers have already invested time and resources into research.

Summary of Obstacles Encountered, Categorized into the Following Five Major Groups:

1. Failure to seamlessly connect or integrate with the routine healthcare system;
2. A funding subsidy model primarily based on medical insurance or commercial insurance has not been established, and progress has been slow;
3. Concerns about personal privacy and data security;
4. Lack of robust scientific evidence to demonstrate the efficacy of the app;
5. The current user base primarily consists of vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and marginalized populations who do not speak English;

To mature the entire internet healthcare system, concerted efforts from multiple stakeholders are still required:



To access the full report, please click the link.IIHI_Patient_Adoption_of_mHealth