mHealth Stakeholders: Follow the Money

No business or service organization exists without stakeholders, individuals, or groups with the ability to affect the operations and success of an organization. mHealth developers, investors, and those responsible for commercializing innovative products are well-advised to identify the stakeholders most likely to support or threaten their segment of the industry or their particular product. The Affordable Care Act’s focus on engaging patients in their own health care has placed consumers at the top of the mHealth stakeholder list, but providers such as health systems and physicians are important as well, although their interests (and power) differ from consumers and from each other. Other key players are insurers, investors, and big pharma and biotech companies. And, the US military and the Veteran’s Administration must be considered in light of the scope of their health-care system. The direct and indirect influence of these and other stakeholders, whether they are supportive or non-supportive, the sources of their power, and the likelihood of that power being used are all important considerations in planning tactics for managing the various stakeholders and maximizing their potential benefit or minimizing their potential for harm. Market factors such as the availability of inexpensive technology, partnership opportunities across industry segments, and the growing interest of investors in digital health technologies create a supportive environment for the advancement of mHealth products—if business models can be sustained.