Assessing Technology Innovation of Mobile Health Apps for Medical Care Providers

Abstract

In recent years, mobile health applications (mHealth apps) have created a new social context in the clinical diagnosis process based on technology innovation. To improve understanding of digital transformation in healthcare and determinants for its implementation, this article examines the available mHealth apps addressed to medical practitioners and explores these apps features’ trustworthiness, quality, and popularity. Based on the normalization process theory, we explain the process from the introduction of mHealth innovation in the clinical practice to the intention of professional engagement. We conduct content analysis of the apps’ descriptions, functions, and user reviews; measured available app features and performance metrics; and applied statistical analysis to understand features intercorrelations and users’ preferences. We observe moderate levels of reliability and quality in the existing mHealth apps, revealing margins for potential improvement. The mHealth app star rating, quality score, and downloads are all highly intercorrelated. The apps with more features score higher in quality, especially those with credible sources, feedback opportunities, and “how to use” instructions. App development from credible sources can increase their trustworthiness. Further, technological advances in these apps can greatly benefit health professionals’ everyday practice and, thus, healthcare for society. This article contributes to the information systems research by using social theories to reveal the importance of app features to the adoption of professional health applications and underline the sets of policies/practices that should apply in the app development process to strengthen clinical efficiency and effectiveness.