mHealth services have now reached the commercialisation phase and the market will be worth $26bn (£17bn) by 2017, according to Research2guidances Global Mobile Health Market Report 2013-2017.

Just 9 per cent of the total market revenue in the next five years will come from app downloads, the report said, with 84 per cent coming from related products and services.

There are already around 97,000 mHealth apps in the major app stores, with 15 per cent created for use by healthcare professionals, including for continued professional development, health monitoring and healthcare management. 42 per cent  of mHealth apps are paid-for while the rest are free. The top mHealth iOS app developers in the US have generated more than 3m free and 300,000 paid downloads.

“Not only are consumers taking advantage of smartphones to manage and improve their own health, but also healthcare professionals,” said Ralf-Gordon Jahns from the research company. “The reach on other platforms [apart from iOS] and in other countries differs a lot but does show the increasing business potential of mHealth apps.”