More than 40 million U.S. residents who have a smartphone actively use a wellness or fitness application on the device, according to a survey by Parks Associates, MobiHealthNews reports (Dolan, MobiHealthNews, 2/3).

The findings are based  on the results from a representative sample in the second quarter of 2014 of U.S. households with broadband (Parks Associates survey, December 2014).

Findings

The survey found that the head of household in one-fourth of homes with broadband service tracked fitness or caloric intake with a mobile app.

In addition, researchers found that health devices accounted for 4% of the machine-to-machine connections in 2014 (MobiHealthNews, 2/3). M2M connections communicate using WiFi or Bluetooth technology (iHealthBeat, 8/12/11).

Researchers predicted that percentage will double over the next five years.

Recommendations

The study suggested that U.S. mobile carriers increase efforts to offer businesses and consumers digital health services.

In terms of potential revenue sources, Parks advised companies to consider creating text messaging-based programs for:

• Health;
• Prescription authentication programs; and
• Weight management.

Jennifer Kent, director of research quality and innovation at Parks, said, "Digital health is an important part of the Internet of Everything, and wireless carriers need to align their connected health businesses with their larger connected living strategies" (MobiHealthNews, 2/3).