Mobile health (mHealth) plays a key role in improving healthcare interventions by engaging patients in healthcare management. Still, there is a paucity of empirical studies on the extent to which mHealth adoption could be effectively promoted via social influencers (clinicians, caretakers or other patients) who have shown to significantly influence health-related behaviors of patients. A multi-group analysis of 253 hospital patients revealed that while social influencers have a strong influence on mHealth adoption, the effect only exists among patients who have high hospital usage. Even so, the positive relationship between technology-related factors including perceived quality of mHealth interventions and opinion on mHealth, patients’ personal motivation to adoption, and patients’ adoption intention is not affected by their hospital usage frequency. Insights on forward-looking recommendations and practical implications on mHealth promotion are highlighted.

Objective: Drug-drug interactions and risk of hepatitis B reactivation potentially affect treatment outcomes of direct-acting antivirals (DAA) against hepatitis C. A comprehensive pharmacist screening and counseling service was implemented in a Hong Kong hospital, which aims to optimize the efficacy and safety of DAA therapy while minimizing the risk of drug wastage. The objective of the service review is to explore potential roles of pharmacist in hepatitis C management. Design: We retrospectively evaluate all cases under service from June 2017 to September 2018. Main outcome measures: Outcomes measured include drug-related problems (DRP) identified, treatment discontinuation and failure rates. Results: There were 44 cases under provision of service, all completed therapy except 1 died from underlying disease. 25 DRPs, predominantly categorized as drug-drug interactions, were documented. The interactions commonly involved acid-lowering agents. 1 case was noted with inadvertently lengthening of treatment duration. No cases of treatment failure or hepatitis B reactivation were reported. Conclusion: The safety concerns and high cost of DAA have created a new challenge to healthcare providers. Comprehensive screening and counseling by pharmacists are valuable to ensure safe and effective use of DAA, hence reducing unnecessary drug wastage.

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