Mobile apps for real-world evidence in healthcare

The use of real-world evidence for healthcare research and evaluation is growing. Mobile health apps have often overlooked potential to contribute valuable real-world data that is not captured by other sources and could provide data that is more cost-effective and generalizable than randomized controlled trials. However, there are several challenges that must be overcome to realize the potential value of patient-used mobile health app real-world data, including data quality, motivation for long-term use, privacy and security, methods of analysis, and standardization and integration. Addressing these challenges will increase the value of data from mobile health apps to inform real-world evidence and improve patient empowerment, clinical management, disease research, and treatment development.