Abstract
There used to exist a vision of telemedicine in which healthcare became universally connected. mHealth is a manifestation of that vision. However, studies that demonstrate theoretical user acceptance factors of mHealth are limited. We are still just neophytes in this area of research with the full potential of mHealth being an unknown. Through the use of literature review and qualitative we examined the effectiveness of mHealth use in a clinical setting, the factors inhibiting the proliferation of mHealth technologies, and the future expectations of mHealth. In this qualitative study twenty random patients between the ages of 25-94 were surveyed on their usage and expectations of mHealth related apps. Of the twenty patients that were sampled, only five had reported of past experience with mHealth related applications. Of those five with past experience in use of mHealth apps, only two reported to have continued with mHealth use on a daily basis. Reasons cited for discontinuation of use included difficult to understand interface, failure to provide precise diagnosis, and time required for data entry. Concerns that patients had for mHealth included security risks, ease of use, and accuracy of disease prediction. Key features that patients expect for the future of mHealth included medical record consolidation, easier appointment scheduling and prescription refills, integration with wearable health monitoring devices, and facilitation of direct patient-to-patient and physician-to-patient communications. Future studies of mHealth will require a greater sample size to verify the validity of these concerns and find solutions to meet the future expectations of mHealth.