What we found out
Telehealth and mHealth
A separate issue for physicians when it comes to mHealth and telehealth is the concern over increasing workload. This illustrates a need to integrate such tools with existing work processes and ensure interoperability. Such activities are still largely lacking, particularly for mHealth.
Telehealth, and particularly mHealth suffer from a lack of assessment and quality standards, which could, in turn, cause a lack of funding and reimbursement. Instituting more rigorous quality standards and assessment frameworks is therefore likely to contribute to overcoming a variety of issues, including user-centred, institutional and economic barriers.
Both mHealth and telehealth suffer from a lack of enabling healthcare policy, as well as a lack of legislation and regulation, stakeholder willingness and clear priorities.
Patient Access and Use of Data
People are motivated to access and use their online data when it is user-friendly and understandable (taking into account the different patient groups) and when trust, security and privacy issues are taken care of.
The main factor with regard to ability for people to access and use online health data is having digital knowledge/competence. Even though a MS is offering digital solutions, people can miss out because of low digital health literacy.
Once people are actually accessing and using their online health data, it is expected that they achieve a deeper understanding of their health condition, which can impact self-management. Raising awareness and understanding are very important factors in this process.
Digital Health literacy
Health professionals and the social environment are important motivators in the process of increasing digital health literacy and can function as coaches or as a support system.
To increase the opportunity, people need to be provided with online access to useful information anytime, anywhere and from any device. To increase the ability and motivation, information and education are given as important factors.
The most mentioned category for both barriers and enablers for digital health literacy is the user-centred category. The most-reported enablers are training and education which should be accessible for everyone at any place and any time, and the support of HPs and having a national digital health literacy agency.
More detailed results can be found on the eHAction website:
mHealth, telehealth, patient access & use of data, and digital health literacy have all been shown to contribute to people empowerment by increasing peoples’ ability, motivation and opportunity.
