What are the barriers to mobile healthcare adoption?

My two cents on this topic are as below: Some of the barriers faced by healthcare in mobile healthcare adoption are lack of system integration, interoperability concerns, usage of appropriate privacy policies, compliance issues, data privacy and confidentiality etc. The other most important reason would be change management among staff to utilize applications. However, since this is the need of the hour, adaptation to change is the trend which is seen across healthcare systems

In my opinion one of the first challenges to tackle should be the adoption of universal standards for electronic medical records exchange, whether by means of existing standards as those proposed by HL7 or the adoption of a truly global consensuated family of standards that allow timely access and sharing of our full health information securely while assuring privacy respect for the person identity

In my humble opinion, mobile healthcare deals with the issues of real life users. All of us have for the last 10 years a pristine mobile device experience, led by the relentless progression of Apple and Google in UX. Mobile healthcare will always be compared to the native look and feel of the incumbent ecosystems and with anything less below that expectation will leave the users with the feeling of a subpar product, hard to use and unreliable.

When dealing with any kind of sensitive data, and personal health data is surely high on that list, security becomes a top concern. mHealth solutions are not yet at the same level of cybersecurity as other systems dealing with sensitive, private dat aliek financial systems, and until they get there people will reasonably be hesitant to use them and put their medical history into apps that could potentially be hacked.

Agree with Dr. Nisha Varadaraj viewpoint. In solving for these, the need for significantly better security is required to ensure the information is used correctly and only as the patient agrees to. All too often large data consolidators and integrators have a different objective to what the application design and client intended.

Health and/or well-being data can be tricky to manage. Often, taken one by one, they don't cause any problem, but as soon as you combine them, things become more complicated and the laws quickly bring us back to reality. On the other hand, the whole point is to combine data in order to take advantage of it, in a virtuous (hopefully) way. But when players rely on AI and do not transparently declare how the data they capture is processed, for what purpose, and whether it is likely to be resold (or not), mHealth is not anymore a safe place to be.

In my experience centralised data systems are inevitably vulnerable to hacking or otherwise unrightful access. The answer might lie in consumers/patients holding their own cryptographic key by which they can edit or authorise a medical specialist (temporary and specifically) to read and/or add to their file. The difficulty herein is the authentic link between the 'natural person' and the target file. This connection is not as solid as medical professionals (or other stakeholders) might want it to be. The data is truly controlled by the holder of the key and not necessarily by the presumed subject (patient) to whom the files seems to apply.

Many service providers don't understand HIPAA rules and don't follow them. This creates issues like sensitive patient information being compromised. Also the patient data is shared or sold to vendors for promoting or marketing services like pharmacies, labs, healthcare packages, medical insurance providers, etc.

The regulatory environment surrounding mobile healthcare is complex and varies across different regions. Compliance with healthcare regulations and addressing legal challenges can be time-consuming and costly for mobile healthcare providers. Uncertainty surrounding these regulations may discourage organizations from investing in mobile healthcare solutions.

HIPPA complications reduce the ability for something consumers really want to occur. Competitive pricing and rating app for health care in an app that can share thr data needed for pricing of services to a specific patient. If we could find a solution we coukd create a system almkst lime a credit score for medical that would allow real pricing estimstes. And quality and ranking of servoce providers could be assembeld in a way that patients could search based on symptoms and get better prolosed solutions and the best providers by ranking and price.

In my opinion it is true that mHealth solutions require significant upfront costs while the market is distributed and relatively conservative. The latter means a longer time for larger adoption of solutions. However mHealth applications can significantly reduce the administrative time spend by healthcare individulas which in the Netherlands seems to take up to 40% of the time. These numbers needs to be reduced tremendously, which mHealth applications can account for. A combination between government funding (either subsidies or long term low cost loans), private funding plus programs to help and train the healthcare professionals are amongst others what needs to be put in place.

The biggest issue for me and my family for mHeath adoption is that the quality is horrible, especially if you have any kind of complicated condition or medical history. I've found it to be a complete waste of time every time I've had to use it.

However, the digital transformation of healthcare is not without its challenges. Privacy and data security concerns must be carefully addressed to ensure that patient information is well protected and used responsibly. A bad example of how sensitive (patient) data has been handled is a telehealth startup in the US that shared the private health data of millions of users, such as the results of their mental health self-assessments, treatments and other clinical information, with advertising companies and social media giants such as Google, Meta and TikTok. This example is a barrier to the uptake of these tools, as it obscures the benefits that digital health can bring to people.

In addition to privacy and security concerns, there are UI issues with smaller screens, especially when entering data into forms.

5G Adoption, shall result on a mHealth more favorable scenario, since killer application shall not be video interactive, nor video of high quality.

Establish advisory boards comprising representatives from different cultural backgrounds, you must include those with disabilities, to provide insights and feedback on mHealth content and strategies. Collaborate with local community organizations, healthcare providers, and influencers to promote mHealth services within communities. Establish easy-to-use feedback channels for users to express their opinions and concerns, facilitating continuous improvement. It is paramount to implement robust security measures to protect user data and privacy, addressing concerns related to data breaches.

Adhere to interoperability standards to ensure that mHealth solutions can exchange information with other health systems and technologies. Align mHealth initiatives with existing healthcare policies and regulations to ensure compliance and facilitate seamless integration. Invest in building the capacity of healthcare organizations to adopt and adapt to mHealth innovations, including infrastructure, personnel, and processes. Involve communities and stakeholders in the design and implementation of mHealth solutions, ensuring that the technology aligns with local needs and preferences. Conduct regular assessments to measure the impact of mHealth solutions on healthcare delivery, patient outcomes, and efficiency.

Come to Poland and evaluate if mhealth can work. In my opinion it will not as the mhealth will not cure you. How you can shorten a waiting list to the cardio doctor?

The cooperation with health experts is necessary and technicians, doctors and other professionals need to understand how to work together sharing same targets with the patient in the center. These multifuncional teams need strong leadership and professionals with a specific profile.

While we have come a long way, we are still not including users (patients and caregivers) early enough in the develop process. Patients engagement at launch is not enough. We must co-create from day one. Pay close attention to and define the target group and design around it. If you are aiming at all types of patients, then diversity, equality, social and cultural backgrounds and age appropriate features and training is essential to success. Many are willing to use health technology, but if the users aren’t able to understand and navigate the technology, or the patient do not see the purpose or personal benefit, then we are back at square one. Last but not least, do not reinvent something with ongoing success. Build on it.

There are some great contributions here, in my experience I would say the most helpful thing to do is to focus on the solution design before getting carried away with the technology. Too many pilots that then died were based around deploying whatever was the latest technology, regardless of the business case and whether the project would solve a real problem. I also found it helpful for the project team to adopt a 'Lean Startup' mindset, using tools like the Business Model Canvas at an early stage, to really shake out whether there was a viable project that worked for all stakeholders.

While the barriers to mobile healthcare adoption are significant, adoption is increasing, with about 40% of adults in the US using them in 2023, up from 34% in 2018 according to a survey by Morning Consult Data. Use of mhealth apps is higher among younger generations than older ones. Many mHealth apps are linked to wearbles such as smart watches or glucose monitors that are used to diagnose, monitor, and treat a variety of health conditions. Among the most popular mHealth applications are fitness and wellness-themed tools associated with heart rate, step counts, nutrition, mood, sleep, and reproductive cycles.

MHealth faces data and privacy hurdles, yet within these challenges lies a unique potential: Patient Empowerment. Time-strapped doctors struggle to educate patients fully, leaving them craving control over their condition. Envision each mobile number as a fingerprint, granting access to tailored information—from lifestyle tips to medication insights. It's time to empower patients with information, shattering perceived limitations. I propose hospitals provide post-diagnosis information directly to individuals, leveraging mobile data. Let's usher in a paradigm shift—information not only informative but uniquely crafted for medical personalization post-diagnosis, in collaboration with doctors.