Integration of mHealth technologies to support service interaction moments in tertiary healthcare of Western Cape, South Africa

There is an increasing publication of scholar articles that describe the ubiquitous nature of mobile technologies as an enabler of mobility. However, there is limited empirical evidence that indicates the defined service interaction moments wherein mobile Health (mHealth) technologies could be useful and are actually used during the execution of work activities with minimal disruption in a clinical setting. The nature of healthcare professionals work activities often requires mobility and continuous management of information but the predominant use of paper-based systems and desktop computer workstations cause time and location constraints. This ultimately defeats the purpose of health information technologies to provide automation of work activities and enhance performance efficiency at points-of-care during service delivery. Hence, it is arguable that mHealth technologies could somewhat redress time and location constraints at points-of-care in clinical practice. The study adopts an interpretivist approach to understand work activities of healthcare professionals in relation to the integration of mHealth technologies, by means of service design as a strategy. Preliminary findings show that, there are specific forms of mHealth applications developed by clinicians but it can be disruptive during work activities while consulting with patients. Ultimately, the study indicates how the interplay between human and machine agencies influence work activities. Furthermore, mHealth technologies would integrate into workflow of professionals at points-of-care where coordinated care involves several professionals for communication purposes. The overall intended outcome of this study would contribute as groundwork on which future studies could design mHealth technologies specific to the work practices of healthcare professionals in sub-Saharan Africa public hospitals