Mobile Health: making the leap to research and clinics

Abstract

Health applications for mobile and wearable devices continue to experience tremendous growth both in the commercial and research sectors, but their impact on healthcare has yet to be fully realized. This commentary introduces three articles in a special issue that provides guidance on how to successfully address translational barriers to bringing mobile health technologies into clinical research and care. We also discuss how the cross-organizational sharing of data, software, and other digital resources can lower such barriers and accelerate progress across mobile health.