Diagnostics (Basel). 2022 Dec 23;13(1):37. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics13010037.

Ellen J Spartz ^1 2, Lauren DeDecker ^1 2, Danny Le ², Laleh Jalilian ^2 3, Berkeley N Limketkai ^1 2

Author information

¹Center for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.

²David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.

³Department of Anesthesiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.

Abstract

Mobile health has the potential to transform the management of chronic illnesses, expanding treatment from a purely clinic-based approach to a more patient-centered delivery of care. For patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a condition characterized by a relapsing and remitting course, adoption of mobile health strategies can promote improved quality of care delivery and clinical outcomes. Benefits of mobile health applications for IBD include tracking symptoms to guide disease management, coordinating data exchange across clinical care providers, increasing communication between patients and the care team, and providing educational materials to increase patient engagement and satisfaction. In this review, we present the current offerings for telemedicine systems and mobile applications designed for patients with IBD and discuss the potential advantages and limitations of utilizing mobile health in the care of these patients.