Accepted for/Published in: JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Date Submitted: Dec 5, 2020
Date Accepted: May 7, 2021
Date Submitted to PubMed: May 8, 2021
Mobile Apps for Drug-Drug Interaction (DDI) Check in Chinese App Stores: A Systematic Review and Content Analysis
ABSTRACT
Background:
As the computerized drug-drug interaction (DDI) alert system is not widely implemented in China, healthcare providers are relying on mobile health (mHealth) apps as references for checking drug information such as DDI.
Objective:
The main objective of this study was to evaluate the quality and content of mHealth apps supporting DDI checking in Chinese App stores.
Methods:
A systematical review was carried out in October 2020, to identify mHealth apps providing DDI checking in both Chinese iOS and Android platforms. We extracted the Apps’ general information, scientific/clinical basis, and accountability, based on the multi-dimensional framework for evaluation of Apps. The quality of mHealth Apps was evaluated by using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS). Cohen's kappa statistics were used to evaluate the interrater agreement.
Results:
A total of seven apps met the selection criteria, only three included the citations. The mean MARS score was 3.69 out of 5 (95% Confidence Interval [CI]=3.34-4.04). The greatest variation was observed in the information section, ranging from 1.41 to 4.60. The functionality section showed the highest mean score of 4.05 (95% CI=3.71-4.40), whereas the engagement section resulted in the lowest average score of 3.16 (95% CI=2.81-3.51). For the overall MARS score, the Cohen interrater κ was 0.354 (95% CI, 0.236-0.473).
Conclusions:
This study systematically reviewed the mHealth Apps with DDI check feature in China. The majority of investigated Apps demonstrated high quality with accurate and comprehensive information on DDIs. However, a couple of Apps, which hit a huge number of downloads in Chinese Market, provided incorrect information. Given these Apps might be used by healthcare providers for checking potential DDIs, which creates a substantial threat to patient safety.
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