Mobile health technologies that enable patient-physician interactions: public policy perspectives

Canadians are fast adopting mobile devices and health apps, and surveys suggest that Canadians want to engage with their health provider using these technologies, yet they are seldom able to. This study seeks to understand why health apps are seldom jointly used between physicians and patients and explore policies that would allow us to leverage these tools within British Columbia’s health care system. Critical discourse analysis and case examples are used to identify key issues and inform the policy analysis. Policy options are evaluated according to effectiveness, implementation ease and equity. In the near term, I recommend the development of a directory of health apps reviewed by patients and medical experts according to an agreed-upon framework and criteria. Longer term, more rigorous processes of certifying or licensing health apps may encourage adoption of more sophisticated, high quality health apps. However, government funding may be needed to stimulate the development of apps that can satisfy more rigorous validation approaches.