Healthcare Mobile Applications and Their Utility - Assignment Example

nаlysis and Роtеntiаl System Designs Name Lecturer Institution Date Question 3 The primary interviewees on the relevance of the mobile health care application were mainly the health care professionals and homemakers. Their reactions towards the mobile health care services revealed a number of thematic issues and perceptions. These perceptions are a reflection of what the interviewees think of the mobile applications. The relevance of the interviewees chosen borrows from the application of the mobile health care services in the homes, hospitals and clinics. The interview was carried out to investigate and come up with the main insights of healthcare mobile applications and their utility. The interviewees agree that mobile health care is gaining popularity and it’s the way to go. Thus there is hope for expansion of the service. They further concur that the mobile health care services are a faster remedy due to their speed, in addition to the applications efficiency. This section of the assignment tackles the theme of physical connectivity. The respondents highlighted that the construction of the healthcare facilities that support the use of the mobile health care applications and getting connected to broadband networks is challenging. This theme is in relation to weaker or lack wireless signals in some health facilities. Other homes also are located in areas where the signal is greatly limited. Such premises are either constructed using materials that are likely to affect the transmission of the signal or the rooms where the mobile health care applications are to be used are on the basements of the main buildings. For instance, the respondents complained that premises built of steel are notorious for lack of connectivity, which can be translated as the repulsion of the signals by steel. It is possible that the whole of the lower floors of such buildings have poor or limited physical connectivity. Some houses have designs that cannot allow cabling of the physical network cables. The problem faced in the installation of cables within the room is countered by the use of gadgets that can detect the wireless network signals (Cornelius & Gordon, 2007). The interviewees approved the construction of residential homes and health care facilities that use the mobile applications using bricks. There was a general shift of wireless connectivity use from the use of physical networks using cables. The health care professionals also did prefer wireless connectivity to cabled connectivity as the latter does not allow them offer services from off-site destinations. These professionals can easily offer treatment to patients by accessing network and obtaining the necessary information regarding the patient. Those professionals offering home health care services opt to use wireless networks through use of broadband USB cards. Closely determining the connectivity to networks are environmental factors. The terrain of an area affects the access of network of that area (Health Technology Assessment International, 1985). Areas around mountains and valleys are likely to experience poor connectivity. Coverage gaps within the scheme of the wireless networks result in poor connectivity. The terrain might hinder access of patients by health care providers who remotely attend to patients. The second theme is the ability of the mobile health care application to meet the customer expectations. The respondents did not really give much concern to the form of technology to be used; whether wired or wireless. Of great concern to them was the way in which the technologies would serve them. Both housekeepers and health professionals had similar and standard expectations of the technologies. The health professionals, whether working from the hospital or from home, want their wireless devices to work as perfectly as the wired ones. Ease and speed of connection are the basic desirable features of the technologies, making them reliable. In terms of the customer expectations, the respondents were greatly interested in determining the ability to achieve an unyielding connection of the applications. This will make the technology used reliable, as the respondents showed a desire of having an application that is capable of running over a long period of time without technical breakdowns. Olla & Tan (2009) suggest that security levels of the application are a major insight. Overseeing of mobile applications comes with many security concerns. The application need to manage the access of data stored on the system as well as well managing the demand of the application subscribers, who are the respondents. The respondents were of the view that security of the entire system starts with the management of how far the information can be accessed, as some details are accessible only to the authorized individuals. The health professionals and some housekeepers who access the network via Wi-Fi showed worry on security of data sent and received as most gadgets that share the connectivity might be secure. Data can be secure by controlling the channels of data access. The health professionals had the feeling that if as much as there is need for security of patient data, the IT specialists should be able to come up with easier but more secure ways of accessing data from the databases. The future of the mobile health care application is another theme. Many mobile applications in other sectors show greater chances of expansion in the future (Bushko, 2002). The homemakers as well as health professional also foresee the mobile applications staying and growing stronger with each passing day. Both respondents said that the applications have been of great importance. Some respondents showed prospects of moving to places where connectivity would not present difficulties. The health professionals suggested that their working places are to upgrade and finalize the adoption of mobile health applications to ensure provision of efficient service delivery. Ease of use is the final insight. The homemakers and the health professionals who are used to manual operations were not at ease with the idea of use of mobile health care applications. Such respondents were negative about the application of the technology in their operations. The homemakers, though not at ease with the applications, they were positive towards the applications since they would benefit from its application Question 4 Rich Picture Drawing The rich picture in the figure below shows stakeholders’ needs, concern and fears in the context of mobile use. Discussion The stakeholders in the mobile health care applications do have various needs that the they wish the technology would step in and solve. These needs are generally areas that have not received the right attention in the view of the stakeholders. Therefore the building of the mobile health care applications responds to such issues. Stahl, (2004) proposes that the health service professionals need applications that are upgraded. This will help them efficiently offer their services to patients. These applications should be in a position to treat diseases or improve the delivery of such services. The applications should also be an upgrade in terms of its design, so that the operation of such health devices is easy. The upgrade of design should also mean that the life span and relevance of the technology is longer. The stakeholders need technology that allow for faster connectivity to the networks available. The devices should be constructed to detect wireless signals. The devices should be installed with operating systems with faster processors which allow for sending and receiving of long and heavy files. The stakeholders, mainly the health professionals, have the ability to influence the patients to use the mobile health care applications (Geisler et. at., 2003). There is increased usage of mobile health services presently, but the success of use of mobile healthcare applications relies on the success of patients in using the devices and acknowledging the need for such technologies. The health professionals should build personal contacts with patients and advise them accordingly on the best technologies to adopt. Setting of boundaries is a necessity to the mobile health care provides. The mobile devices are life saving when appropriately used (Olla & Tan, 2009). However, these devices could be very fatal if used without precaution. The stakeholders should come up with a set of regulations that provision for the usage of the devices. In hospitals, for instance, the appliances should have limits of access by the staff. Only qualified personnel should use this technology. The devices should also have boundaries of use, such that their use in the surgery rooms is not guaranteed. Peabody (2013) says there is need for standardized and official registration of the mobile health care applications. This ensures that the stakeholders who use the technology are not held responsible for use of illegal devices, which might amount to them being charged of going against the law. Therefore, the firms manufacturing and supplying the devices should be registered as required for by law. The use of such technology in the field of health also must be approved by law. Lastly, the stakeholders need to a reliable network system. This will enable them have a secure network while the network is being managed by the IT specialists regularly. The common problems related to connection to a network that is not well managed include poor connectivity, lack of appropriate security measures and failure to meet customer specifications (Istepanian et. al., 2006). The aspect of reliability on the network is a major need to the stakeholders. The network managers should be actively involved in the management of the network so that they are able to notice a problem before it gets to the attention of the stakeholders. Poor management of networks is both destructive and costly. In case the stakeholders have their own network support team, there is need to manage this network. This can be achieved through health providers and the network managers sharing vital information that can enhance the efficiency of the network. The devices should be checked regularly to ensure that those with major technical problems are serviced on regular basis. Other forms of network management are installed with programs capable of sending signals in case technical errors with provision or management of network arise. The stakeholders including the health care providers have concerns that create fears and mistrust in the mobile health care applications. The concerns of the stakeholders if well responded to, they could build significant positive attitudes in the stakeholders as far as the mobile health care applications are concerned. The stakeholders hold doubts on the safety measures taken in the use of the mobile health care devices. The applications must meet the set safety standards before they are approved for use (European Society For Engineering And Medicine, 1993). Due to the value attached to life, most medical technologies that are new always are put under so much scrutiny. The innovations must be regulated so as to ensure they conform to the standards of health. The manufacturers need to have approval by law or the institutions responsible for approval of the health innovations so as to receive the approval of the stakeholders. The cost of implementing the technology is a concern to the stakeholders, who are interested in seeing the mobile healthcare a success. The cost of designing, testing and implementing the application is considered before the stakeholders can dedicate themselves to the project (Drummond, 1987). Analysis of whether the benefits derived from the use of mobile heath care services are more than the disadvantages of the same. Therefore this leaves the stakeholders with the fears of whether to adopt the system or not. The stakeholders must find out whether their resources are in a position to support the system after its adoption, and whether the system is likely to succeed or fail. The impact of mobile health care applications in the health sector is a major concern to the stakeholders. Verghese (2005) argues that the stakeholders have to ensure that the technology improves the status of the health conditions of the patients and health care services in general, measured in the number of lives saved or the diseases cured and risks managed. Some applications can be utilized by the patients themselves; therefore the designers must build user friendly interfaces. The stakeholders must ensure that the system is secure and there is reduced access of information by unauthorized persons (Lehoux, 2006). The hospital and health professionals must protect the patient’s files from access by unauthorized persons. Though the hospitals can limit the access of its files, there are situations that compel the hospital to allow access of its patients’ private information, as provided by the patriot Act, in which the relevant authorities can access any information for the sake of security maintenance in states. However, the stakeholders should ensure that their database systems are free from hackers. Question 5 The methodology of gathering information was interviewing respondents, some of which are referred to as stakeholders in this paper. Students were the interviewers while health care service providers and homemakers were the respondents. Qualitative data was collected, and its analysis is presented in this article. The analysis of findings identifies five major themes that arise in form of insight from the interview carried out. The themes are a major focus in evaluating the performance of the health care mobile applications. Any adoptions that can be made from the themes can make a great positive impact on the technology for the good of individuals, whether interviewed or not. The themes were not directly told to the interviewers, but rather understood as the basic issues surrounding the use the technology in then residential and health homes, as well as in the hospitals. The mobile health care application is representation of the advancing nature of technology (Anthony et.al., 2010). It implies intensive research that was carried out by the designers of the innovations. There is support for innovative skills in form of funding and research resources. The innovation shows a connection between different areas of study in science, engineering and health. The analysis of the facts gathered proves that though there are impressive results due to use of mobile health care services in treating diseases, the adoption of mobile health care into the hospitals and individual residential and health homes is generally slow (Ecri, 1989). The response, however, is slower in the poor and developing countries according to the developed countries. This could be attributed to lack of adequate resources in the developing countries, lack of appropriate guidance on the selection of the best applications to employ and partly due to low levels of innovation in such countries. The analysis of the findings of the interview reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the use mobile health care services in the field of health by medical professionals. With reference to Peabody (2013), there is easy sharing of information which provides doctors with a platform of seeking help from other professionals via the numerous social sites. The doctors are also able to enhance their relationship with their patients through the same media. The doctors utilize the technology to reach a varied number of patients from different geographical locations. The use of mobile health care services in the field of medicine has seen many lives saved and many people relieved of pain caused by illnesses. The technology works faster and more efficiently, meaning that the health care services have been improved. There have been economical moves in the health sector as many patients no longer need to pay the consultation charges. Patients can easily reach the doctors of their choice over the social media and seek help from them. The technology is faced with some demerits, and among them is the lack of proper of proper data management. If data is not kept well then the privacy of the patients is undermined, yet such private details have substantial effect not only on the patient but their family as well. Peabody (2013) notes that patients might want to keep their health status a secret from such people as peers, workmates or even employers, which might risk their friendship or their job. Hospitals should work in accordance with the provisions of Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA) which protects the confidentiality of information between doctors and their patients. References ANTHONY, K., NAGEL, D. M., & GOSS, S. (2010). The use of technology in mental health applications,ethics and practice. Springfield, Ill, Charles C. 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