Abstract
BackgroundMobile health (mHealth) apps are a potential means of empowering patients, especially in the case of multimorbidity, which complicates patients’ care needs. Previous studies have shown that general practitioners (GPs) have both expectations and concerns regarding patients’ use of mHealth apps that could impact their willingness to recommend the apps to patients.ObjectiveThe aim of this qualitative study is to investigate French GPs’ attitudes toward the prescription of mHealth apps or devices aimed toward patients by analyzing GPs’ perceptions and expectations of mHealth technologies.MethodsA total of 36 GPs were interviewed individually (n=20) or in a discussion group (n=16). All participants were in private practice. A qualitative analysis of each interview and focus group was conducted using grounded theory analysis.ResultsConsidering the value assigned to mHealth apps by participants and their willingness or resistance to prescribe them, 3 groups were defined based on the attitudes or positions adopted by GPs: digital engagement (favorable attitude; mHealth apps are perceived as additional resources and complementary tools that facilitate the medical work, the follow-up care, and the monitoring of patients; and apps increase patients’ compliance and empowerment); patient protection (related to the management of patient care and fear of risks for patients, concerns about patient data privacy and security, doubt about the usefulness for empowering patients, standardization of the medical decision process, overmedicalization, risks for individual freedom, and increasing social inequalities in health); doctor protection (fear of additional tasks and burden, doubt about the actionability of patient-gathered health data, risk for medical liability, dehumanization of the patient-doctor relationship, fear of increased drug prescription, and commodification of patient data).ConclusionsA deep understanding of both the expectations and fears of GPs is essential to motivate them to recommend mHealth apps to their patients. The results of this study show the need to provide appropriate education and training to enhance GPs’ digital skills. Certification of the apps by an independent authority should be encouraged to reassure physicians about ethical and data security issues. Our results highlight the need to overcome technical issues such as interoperability between data collection and medical records to limit the disruption of medical work because of data flow.
Highlights
BackgroundMobile health technologies are apps or devices designed to deliver health information, collect clinical health data, provide real-time monitoring of patients’ vital signs, and sometimes direct therapeutic interventions
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2021 | vol 9 | iss. 3 | e21795 | p. 2 Mobile health (mHealth) apps aimed toward patients, we interviewed general practitioners (GPs) who were at different stages in their career trajectory, worked in areas with different population densities, and worked in solo or group practice
We identified the dimension of the value given by GPs to the mHealth apps aimed toward patients
Summary
BackgroundMobile health (mHealth) technologies are apps or devices designed to deliver health information, collect clinical health data, provide real-time monitoring of patients’ vital signs, and sometimes direct therapeutic interventions. The medical and health care literature presents mHealth apps as a means of empowering patients by providing them with medical and health-related information and education, improving their compliance with treatment, and helping them manage their own health [1]. Many patients consider that mHealth apps aimed toward enabling patients to facilitate the self-management of their illnesses [2], especially in the case of multimorbidity that complexifies patients’ care needs, leading to difficulties in coping with illnesses and an increased burden of illness and treatment [3]. Mobile health (mHealth) apps are a potential means of empowering patients, especially in the case of multimorbidity, which complicates patients’ care needs. Previous studies have shown that general practitioners (GPs) have both expectations and concerns regarding patients’ use of mHealth apps that could impact their willingness to recommend the apps to patients
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