Cell phones help save the lives of mothers, infants and children

"Anecdotally, we can see the transformative effect," says Dr. Mechael, who, sponsored by the mHealth Alliance, has recently completed an analysis of 2,400 published mHealth reports. Working with WHO, she found that many countries either have already or are considering introducing mHealth into their health systems. mHealth is so new, however, "the data is just not there yet to prove the case," says Dr. Mechael.

Many different groups and organizations are carrying out countless pilot projects. That presents a potential barrier to expansion. "Most projects are designed as a single solution for a specific problem," says Dr. Dzenowagis. "In the field everyone has a different system which means a lack of coordination. This leads to duplication of expense and effort and means information may not be available to those who need it."

The mHealth Alliance and its Maternal mHealth Initiative with PMNCH are designed to bring coordination and information sharing to the field, focusing on integrated solutions.

"We won't be talking about mobile health in 2015," says Dr. Mechael. "By then, we won't need to pull it out and talk about it and examine it because it will be a fully accepted tool for health care."

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