What is it about?
Mobile health (mHealth) applications intended to support shared decision making, the process in which patients and providers collaborate to make healthcare decisions based on best evidence and what matters most to patients, are increasingly available.But, what are the potential advantages and disadvantages? This paper explains potential advantages and disadvantages of using mHealth in shared decision making, and suggest some directions for future research in this quickly expanding field.
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Why is it important?
Digitalization holds both promise and peril. Nowadays mobile applications are accessible, affordable, and easy to use for patients and health providers in higher-income parts of the world, where in general there is increased interest in developing and using mHealth apps for supporting SDM. Recent studies suggest that mHealth apps can empower patients, encourage greater participation of patients in medical decision-making, and increase patient satisfaction. Other studies suggest certain potential disadvantages, such as increased level of anxiety of patients, limited access to Internet or mobile phone networks in lower-income countries, and security concerns.
Perspectives
Future studies should evaluate the extent to which current mobile apps that support SDM are consistent with agreed standards, such as the IPDAS. It is also important to find a way to measure whether mHealth apps advertised as decision support tools do in fact support SDM or not, and if they do support SDM, what their effects are on both patients and health providers. Moreover, there is a need for further research into understanding the impact of decision aid apps on the professional–patient relationship, how mHealth apps are presented to and received by patients, and on adapting them to a variety of cultural and socio-economic contexts.
Dr Samira A.Rahimi
Universite Laval
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Are mobile health applications useful for supporting shared decision making in diagnostic and treatment decisions?, Global Health Action, June 2017, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/16549716.2017.1332259.
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