JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

mHealth apps could be a means of empowering patients especially in the case of multimorbidity that complexifies patients’ care needs. Little is known so far about the perceived value of mHealth by general practitioners (GPs), and GPs’ fears and resistance to patient use of mHealth apps.

Objective:

The aim of our qualitative study was to investigate French GPs’ perceptions and expectations of mHealth apps aimed towards patients.

Methods:

Thirty-five GPs were interviewed individually (n=19) 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 the Grounded Theory coding method. Based on a sociological approach, an empirical typology was then drawn of the attitude of French GPs’ towards the prescription of mobile health apps.

Results:

The themes generated from the interviews allow us to identify two empirical dimensions of the GPs concerns towards mHealth apps: 1) the value of the apps for patients (from high to low); 2) the value for the medical work (from high to low). These concerns can be organized into three broad categories of attitudes adopted by the GPs: digital engagement, patient protection, doctor protection. These three types of highlighted attitudes are not closed “boxes”. Indeed, each GP interviewed could have an ambivalent discourse with regard to specific aspects of the prescription of mHealth apps or the patients’ use of apps.

Conclusions:

A deep understanding of both expectations and fears of GPs is essential to motivate them to recommend mobile health apps to their patients. The study’s results show a need to provide appropriate education and training in order to enhance digital skills of GPs. Certification of the apps by an independent authority should be encouraged to reassure physicians over ethical and data security issues. Our results highlight the need to overcome technical issues like interoperability between data collection and medical records in order to limit the disruption of the medical work by the data flow.