Perspectives on the Evolution of Mobile (mHealth) Technologies and Application to Rehabilitation.

People with chronic conditions and disabilities who are vulnerable to secondary complications frequently need complex habilitative and rehabilitative services to prevent and treat these complications. This paper reviews the evolution of mHealth technologies and presents insights as to how this evolution informed the development of a novile mHealth system, iMHere, and other technologies, including those used by the Veterans Administration. The paper explains the novel applications of mHealth for rehabilitation and specifically physical therapy. Perspectives on the roles of Rehabilitation professionals in the delivery of healthcare using mHealth systems are included. Challenges to mHealth including regulatory and funding issues are also addressed. This article also describes how mHealth can be used to improve patient satisfaction and delivery of care and to promote health and wellness.