The Journal of mHealth Vol 1 Issue 1 (Feb 2014) | Page 38

EPHA Briefing on Mobile Health
Continued from page 35

globally and mHealth devices in
particular.
Develop Digital and Health
Literacy
To achieve economic, health and
social objectives, and mitigate
the causes for health inequalities,
eHealth literacy must be enhanced
in the wider framework of health
literacy, so that users are well informed not only about mHealth
but are able to make meaningful use
of it.
Flexible dialogue with end users
about mHealth and its exigencies
should be the first step. All users
must be clear about potential advantages and pitfalls, and the skills
required to reap its benefits.

CONCLUSIONS &
RECOMMENDATIONS
The eHealth Action Plan 20122020 recognises the current lack of
legal clarity for mHealth:
Given the complexity created by
‘mHealth’ and ‘health and wellbeing applications’ in particular, further clarification is needed on the legal framework applicable to these specific areas. The rapid
developments in this sector raise questions
about the applicability of the current
frameworks, the use of the data collected
through these applications by individuals
and medical professionals, and whether
or not and how they will be integrated in
healthcare systems. Clarity of information and ‘user-friendliness’ are also important to consider. [39]
Given mHealth’s innovation and
employment potential, the Com-

36
February 2014

mission is increasingly exploring it
as part of eHealth policies in order
to attain the targets of the Digital
Agenda and Europe 2020, It will
publish a Green Paper in the second half of 2013.
As online transactions and communication are commonplace in
sectors such as travel and banking, it will be interesting to follow
whether mHealth can bring health
closer to people by encouraging
routine use in a safe, equitable and
meaningful way. As demand is rising, it is vital that mHealth products provide tangible benefits.
Hence they should be made available and tested by healthcare stakeholders to avoid abuse. [40]
From a policy perspective, it is
important to take into account existing and evolving pieces of European and national legislation in
areas impacting on mHealth, and
to systematically monitor the
quality of information and tools
provided to end users. The following points should be considered as
the discussion continues to unfold:
»

Foster patient empowerment:
in the process of self-manage-

»

Ensure processes that facilitate
meaningful end-user involvement

»

Improve mHealth literacy: A
perceived lack of knowledge
and skills needed to be able
to use mobile health services
is one of the most common
barriers to user acceptance of
mHealth. In line with the European Commission’s eHealth
Action Plan 2012-2020, initiatives aimed at developing
mHealth training and education
programmes should be developed, e.g. through relevant EU
programmes and/or policy initiatives.

»

Clarify data protection regulation as it applies to mHealth,
ensuring end-user trust and ease
of use, while recognising the
‘power’ of data in disease management, diagnosis and prevention.

»

Encourage
and
facilitate
mHealth stakeholder engagement: Given the potential of

Develop policies that support integrated patient-centred
chronic disease care

»

ment: patients need to be able
to take control of their condition and be reassured that feedback and necessary adjustments
from a healthcare professional
are available when necessary

‘mobile health doesn’t focus
exclusively on the device, but on the
fact that the information and data is
mobile (…) The information is able to
be collected wherever it is needed and
transmitted wherever it needs to go,’