Mobile messaging and smartphone apps for patient communication and engagement in spine surgery

Mobile phones are nearly ubiquitous in the United States. An estimated 96% of people in the U.S. own a cellular phone, and 81% own a smartphone (1). The number of cell phone owners has almost tripled from 35% in 2011. Orthopaedic patients have a similar cell phone utilization, with 77% of patients in a large urban academic center report owning a smartphone (2). Due to the rapid growth of smartphone use, mobile health (mHealth) applications have become increasingly common; over 165,000 mHealth applications are currently available for purchase (3-5)