ArticleJMIR mHealth and uHealth2020
mHealth App Prescription in Australian General Practice: Pre-Post Study.
Article in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions Aimed at Enhancing Health Care Providers' Behavior Toward the Prescription of Mobile Health Apps: Systematic Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2023Pooled it
- Assessing the Satisfaction of Physicians in Using the Electronic Prescription System of Social Security in Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2025Article
- Factors influencing primary care physicians recommending patients to use digital health technologies for self-management: A cross-sectional study across 20 countries.The European journal of general practice · 2025Article
- Encouraging General Practitioners to Refer Patients With Insomnia to a Digital Therapeutic (Sleepio): Feasibility Repeated-Measures Intervention Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Design and Evaluation of a Digital Health App (SingaporeWALK) for Active Aging: Pre-Post Intervention Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- The Effectiveness of a Mobile National Remote Emergency System for Malignant Hyperthermia in China: Retrospective Pre-Post Implementation Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Value of a quality label and European healthcare professionals' willingness to recommend health apps: An experimental vignette study.Journal of health psychology · 2025Article
- Enhancing Digital Health Awareness and mHealth Competencies in Medical Education: Proof-of-Concept Study and Summative Process Evaluation of a Quality Improvement Project.JMIR medical education · 2024Article
- Using the behaviour change wheel to develop a tailored intervention to overcome general practitioners' perceived barriers to referring insomnia patients to digital therapeutic sleepio.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Feasibility, usability, and acceptability of MobileCoach-Teen: A smartphone app-based preventative intervention for risky adolescent drinking behavior.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2024Article
- Development of a low resource exercise rehabilitation application for musculoskeletal disorders to help underserved patients in a primary care setting.The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association · 2022Article
- Digital Facilitation to Support Patient Access to Web-Based Primary Care Services: Scoping Literature Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Article
- Effectiveness of App-Based Intervention to Improve Health Status of Sedentary Middle-Aged Males and Females.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Coaching to Support Mental Health Apps: Exploratory Narrative Review.JMIR human factors · 2022Review
- Willingness of French General Practitioners to Prescribe mHealth Apps and Devices: Quantitative Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2022Article
- Evidence of User-Expert Gaps in Health App Ratings and Implications for Practice.Frontiers in digital health · 2022Article
- Primary care management of chronic insomnia: a qualitative analysis of the attitudes and experiences of Australian general practitioners.BMC family practice · 2021Article
- Digital Clinics and Mobile Technology Implementation for Mental Health Care.Current psychiatry reports · 2021Review
- Patient and physician perspectives on the use and outcome measures of mHealth apps: Exploratory survey and focus group study.Digital healthArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEvidence of effectiveness of mobile health (mHealth) apps as well as their usability as non-drug interventions in primary care are emerging around the globe.
objectiveThis study aimed to explore the feasibility of mHealth app prescription by general practitioners (GPs) and to evaluate the effectiveness of an implementation intervention to increase app prescription.
methodsA single-group, before-and-after study was conducted in Australian general practice. GPs were given prescription pads for 6 mHealth apps and reported the number of prescriptions dispensed for 4 months. After the reporting of month 2, a 2-minute video of one of the apps was randomly selected and sent to each GP. Data were collected through a prestudy questionnaire, monthly electronic reporting, and end-of-study interviews. The primary outcome was the number of app prescriptions (total, monthly, per GP, and per GP per fortnight). Secondary outcomes included confidence in prescribing apps (0-5 scale), the impact of the intervention video on subsequent prescription numbers, and acceptability of the interventions.
resultsOf 40 GPs recruited, 39 commenced, and 36 completed the study. In total, 1324 app prescriptions were dispensed over 4 months. The median number of apps prescribed per GP was 30 (range 6-111 apps). The median number of apps prescribed per GP per fortnight increased from the pre-study level of 1.7 to 4.1. Confidence about prescribing apps doubled from a mean of 2 (not so confident) to 4 (very confident). App videos did not affect subsequent prescription rates substantially. Post-study interviews revealed that the intervention was highly acceptable.
conclusionsmHealth app prescription in general practice is feasible, and our implementation intervention was effective in increasing app prescription. GPs need more tailored education and training on the value of mHealth apps and knowledge of prescribable apps to be able to successfully change their prescribing habits to include apps. The future of sustainable and scalable app prescription requires a trustworthy electronic app repository of prescribable mHealth apps for GPs.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.