Empowering patients through digital technologies: the case of mobile health applications

Mobile health initiatives aim to give patients more medical information and to empower them over their medical treatments. However, information overload and lack of digital literacy may hinder patient empowerment. This chapter investigates opportunities and challenges of patient empowerment and mobile health. The authors analyze the different definitions used in the literature to characterize patient empowerment and mobile health, discussing implications for all the care actors involved. Although the adoption rate of mobile technologies is at its infant stage and challenges still outweigh the benefits of patient empowerment, mobile health apps can foster the progress towards patient-centered care.