In Practice

Dos and don’ts for mHealth-based clinical support among clinicians in South Africa: Results from a 1-day workshop

L Laflamme, J Chipps, D Barrett, P Brysiewicz, R Duys, K Evans, M A Jarvis, M Mars, W Stassen, L A Wallis

Abstract


Digital technologies continue to penetrate the South African (SA) healthcare sector at an increasing rate. Clinician-to-clinician diagnostic and management assistance through mHealth is expanding rapidly, reducing professional isolation and unnecessary referrals, and promoting better patient outcomes and more equitable healthcare systems. However, the widespread uptake of mHealth use raises ethical concerns around patient autonomy and safety, and guidance for healthcare workers around the ethical use of mHealth is needed. This article presents the results of a multi-stakeholder workshop at which the ‘dos and don’ts’ pertaining to mHealth ethics in the SA context were formulated and aligned to seven basic recommendations derived from the literature and previous multi-stakeholder, multi-country meetings.


Authors' affiliations

L Laflamme, Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Institute for Social and Health Sciences, University of South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa

J Chipps, School of Nursing, Faculty of Community and Health Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa

D Barrett, Head of Product, Healthforce, Cape Town, South Africa

P Brysiewicz, School of Nursing and Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa; Division of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa

R Duys, Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa

K Evans, Division of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa

M A Jarvis, School of Nursing and Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

M Mars, Department of TeleHealth, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

W Stassen, Division of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa

L A Wallis, Division of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Full Text

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Keywords

mHealth; Ethical considerations; Practice guidance

Cite this article

South African Medical Journal 2021;111(5):416-420. DOI:10.7196/SAMJ.2021.v111i5.15400

Article History

Date submitted: 2021-04-30
Date published: 2021-04-30

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