Prescribing an App? Oncology Providers’ Views on Mobile Health Apps for Cancer Care

Abstract

Introduction Although there are over 500 mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps) available for download in the field of oncology, little research has addressed their acceptability among health care providers. In addition, the providers’ perspectives regarding patient app use has been largely unexamined. We conducted a qualitative study to explore opportunities and barriers for mHealth app use for oncology care. Methods We developed a structured interview guide focusing on acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, and sustainability of the use of apps in cancer care. We interviewed 15 oncology providers about their attitudes and preferences. De-identified audio recordings were transcribed and coded for emerging themes. Results Providers interviewed included physicians (n = 8) and advanced practice (n = 3) and supportive services (n = 4) providers who care for a wide range of cancer types; ages ranged from 32 to 68 years. Interviews lasted approximately 30 minutes. Oncology providers reported limited exposure to mHealth apps in patient care, but were generally open to recommending or prescribing apps in the future. Key themes included opportunities for mobile app use (including general health promotion, tracking symptoms, and engaging patients) and barriers to implementation (including access to technology, responsibility, workflow, and the source of the app itself). Conclusion Our results show openness among oncology providers to using mHealth technology as part of patient care, but concerns regarding implementation. Designing acceptable apps may be challenging and require involvement of key stakeholders, partnering with trustworthy institutions, and outcome-based research.

Health Care Provider Perceptions of Consumer-Grade Devices and Apps for Tracking Health: A Pilot Study (Preprint)

“…Prior work has demonstrated that patient access to these technologies is a barrier to providers in recommending them to patients [25][26][27][28], and our results support these findings. Our research demonstrated provider perceived barriers to recommending these technologies included older patients, technical literacy, and financial costs.…”

“…However, Nundy et al found that overall this data is more trustworthy than self-report, which providers perceive that some patients misrepresent their activity to please the providers [26]. In previous research regarding health technologies, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) rules and regulations regarding data security have been major concerns among providers [25,27,28]. However, we found the majority of providers were not concerned with these issues.…”

“…), the evidence suggests that tracking may be beneficial [19][20][21][22][23], however, use in the clinical setting remains limited. Research on primary care providers' perceptions of information technologies that have been developed to be used as a diary for a specific illness, is also limited, with only a handful of studies identified [24][25][26][27][28].…”

Assessing Apps for Patients with Genitourinary Tumors Using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS): Systematic Search in App Stores and Content Analysis

“…Furthermore, the participation of patients in the management of their symptoms by registering and sending messages and reminders significantly enhances the health outcomes [ 26 ]. Collado et al [ 18 ] found that more than 40% of patients would be interested in communicating with their physician or pharmacist using an app.…”

“…Consequently, searching for high-quality information is becoming even more difficult, with the result that the user downloads apps of uncertain reliability that are likely not the most appropriate option for his/her needs [ 15 - 17 ]. This aspect is particularly important for patients with cancer, where receiving poor-quality information may have a negative impact on prognosis [ 18 ].…”