Proposed framework to measure the ROI of mobile tele-health solutions in the management of chronic diseases

Significant changes in the distribution of healthcare costs (away from critical care and towards chronic diseases) pose major challenges to existing healthcare systems. Caring for a patient with a chronic disease lasts as long as a person is alive, and medical expenses accumulate unrelentingly. Therefore, new approaches to disease management of chronic diseases are urgently needed, especially in terms of increasing the (currently low) rate of adherence to the patient´s prescribed treatment plan. A proposal is advanced to use mobile tele-health systems to enhance the effectiveness of disease management programs. A framework to measure the ROI (return on investment) of these systems is also proposed.