JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The successful implementation of clinical smartphone applications in hospital settings requires close collaboration with industry partners. A large-scale hospital-wide implementation of a clinical mobile application for healthcare professionals developed in partnership with Google Health and academic partners was deployed on a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) basis using mobile device management (MDM) at our UK academic hospital. As this was the first large-scale implementation of this type of innovation in the UK health system, important insights and lessons learned from the deployment may be useful to other organisations considering implementing similar technology in partnership with commercial companies.

Objective:

The aims of this study were to define the key enablers and barriers, and to propose a ‘roadmap’ for the implementation of a hospital-wide clinical mobile application developed in collaboration with an industry partner as a data processor and an academic partner for independent evaluation.

Methods:

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with high-level stakeholders from industry, academia and healthcare providers who had instrumental roles in the implementation of the application at our hospital. The interviews explored participant’s views on the enablers and barriers to the implementation process. Interviews were analysed using a broadly deductive approach to thematic analysis.

Results:

In total, 14 participants were interviewed. Key enablers identified were the establishment of a steering committee with high-level clinical involvement, well-defined roles and responsibilities between partners, effective communication strategies with end-users, safe information governance precautions and increased patient engagement and transparency. Barriers identified were the lack of dedicated resources for mobile change at our hospital, risk aversion, unclear strategy and regulation, and the implications of BYOD and MDM policies. The key lessons learned from the deployment process are highlighted and a roadmap for the implementation of large-scale clinical mobile applications in hospital settings is proposed.

Conclusions:

Despite partnering with one of the world’s biggest technology companies, the cultural and technological change required for mobile working and implementation in healthcare was found to be a significant challenge. With an increasing requirement for healthcare organisations to partner with industry for advanced mobile technologies, the lessons learned from our implementation can influence how other healthcare organisations undertake similar mobile change and improve the chances of successful widespread mobile transformation.