Research Methodology in Computing and Technology (RMCT) Assignment: Project Paper
Research Methodology in Computing and Technology (RMCT) Assignment: Project Paper
Summary of Assignment:
Keywords: Asia, mobile applications, health Since there is no exact definition for PHR, it is described
information management, public health care, health as a device which gives the patients to collect,
records. organize and manage their medical health
information.
1. Introduction
The US Joint Electronic PHR Task Force has defined
In this era, Malaysia’s health care is managed by the PHR: “Electronic personal health record (PHR): a
government’s Ministry of Health. There’s 2-tiered private and secure application through which an
health care system in Malaysia which are public and individual may access, manage, and share his or
private. A health care system enhances the nation to her health information. The PHR can include
access their medical records easily. The ministry of information that is entered by the consumer and/or
health mission and aim to have an efficient health care data from other sources such as pharmacies, labs,
system which able to increase the quality to care about and health care providers. The PHR may or may
their health, decreasing the numbers of diseases burden not include information from the electronic health
for both CD and NCD. CD refers to communicable record (EHR) that is maintained by the health care
diseases and NCD is non-communicable disease. In provider and is not synonymous with the EHR.
this study, it is all about the PHR (Personal Health PHR sponsors include vendors who may or may
Records) which it eventually will be applied into not charge a fee, health care organizations such as
mobile application. hospitals, health insurance companies, or
employers.” [1]
By the increase in numbers of internet usage and
availability of medical health information on Google,
Baidu and others web browsers, it has made patients
more aware of what symptoms, the type of diseases,
it’s causes and cures for the diseases as well the
PHR connected and linked to healthcare payers'
information systems.
iii) Third‐party PHR
From the investigation of Joint Electronic Personal In simple words, PHRs are generated and stores
Health Record Task Force, they mentioned that there patient’s medical health records in a mobile application
are several parts of the PHRs is differing from each using mobile phones or even computers. Complex
other.[2] PHRs is tethered to providers information systems,
Additionally, the National Committee on Vital and which it comes with many features like personal record
Health Statistics states that the differences between keeping, tracking, managing. Besides that, it helps
PHRs are the scope of information, it’s source of patient to book appointments, renew prescriptions,
information, features and functionalities, the custodian medical history questionnaires, e-visits and access to
of the records, content storage locations, technical patient’s medical records from the medical records
approach as well the party who access the information. database and able to view their previous records and
[2] While from The International Organization of medical fees statements.
Standards (ISO) has divided EHRs to four category
which are: Communication between patients and providers
i) Patient self-maintainable and self- As for the storing PHRs in mobile application rather
manageable HER. than keeping it in paper-based by the provider, it
ii) Third party manageable and maintainable greatly increase the communication between provider
HER or web host provider. and the patient as all the features like renew
iii) Health providers or physician maintains prescriptions, schedule appointment booking can be
and manages HER. done through Health Pocket as compared to the
iv) Patient self-maintainable and manageable trending email communication (sending emails to
integrated EHR. providers). It informs the provider side if the patient
place order for the prescription and other features as
For the PHRs, they are categorized into: well. This will notify the provider more efficiently
rather than reading and checking email each of them
i) Provider‐tethered PHR individually which will cause human mistakes or could
have skip the emails.
PHR is linked and tethered to health providers
information system. Changes in lifestyle and health education
ii) Payer‐tethered PHR
Personal data which stores in EMR and personal data, a smoking intervention based on text messaging
a PHR is capable to store difference types of (txt2stop) more than doubled biochemically verified
information like social status, living environment, work smoking cessation [3]. While for other low-quality
environment or even family status. But PHR mainly trials, it enhances diabetes control but have no effect
stores patient’s health records, health lifestyle like diet, towards body weight controls by text messaging. There
weight loss, working habit, smoking habits or even are suggestive benefits for other condition but not all
exercises they do. In a research, it is reviewed that cases have their benefits of intervention.
PHR in mobile application used by patients and
providers greatly increase their communication and 3. Problem Statement
their health knowledge. An article stated that after 6
months of using PHR is greatly changes their lifestyle In the problem statement, PHRs is traditionally stored
and their health situation in the way of (exercise, diet inside USB drives, CD drives and others electronic
as well as their habits) approximately 25%. In this storage devices that is attached into wallet cards,
mobile application, patients can share their information bracelets and other possible devices. The main purpose
at the community forum sharing section to discuss of this PHRs is just to store the health medical records
about the similar problems which it largely enhances and history that can be used to access when meeting
their health status and changes lifestyle. physician or providers as well in emergency time. This
early innovation of this devices had some limitations of
Self-management by patient as it is lack of interoperability, lack in security &
assurance as nowadays increase in number of data
The PHRs allows user to self-manage their own exploitation by hackers, also it would be useless if
personal situation and data. They able to edit, add, devices hardware failure everything will be lost.
search and update their information, viewing their Besides that, it is not stand alone and it relies to using
medical history especially for chronic disease patients, external device like computers, tablets, or phones to
weight management, activity logs as well glucose and access to the records as well some of them required
blood pressure level. This allows patients to monitor software before accessing to the records which is not
their personal health more efficiently, also early that convenient and secured. The providers
detection towards the critical disease which they able information system EHR is less flexible, patient
to do prevention before it’s too late. couldn’t access their health records at anywhere but to
go to the providers place to access the records which is
2.3 The Effectiveness of Mobile-Health Technology. quite time consuming and very inconvenience.[4]
The effective way to enhance the rate of self-manage Contemporarily, a patient's health record is typically
about health care towards the health care customer is to stored in an electronic health record (EHR) system.
conducts personal consultations and through the social These systems, typically managed by a health care
media, and most importantly is by using mobile provider, have contributed to improving the quality and
technology like smart phones and computers to deliver safety of health care and are a central component of
the health message. The message can be delivered health care providers' employment of information
anytime in anyplace at any time. For examples, a technologies. As health records are generally stored
obesity person is trying to lose weight, therefore with the health care provider, access to his/her health
regular text messages or even instant messages can be data may not be readily available to an individual to
sent for motivation purpose. Health Pocket, the latest support such personal health activities as decision
services using mobile technology in the mobile making and health planning. To provide patients with
application, the new effective solution to increase the access to their health data, health care providers are
health knowledge of the patient and deliver to them now supplying their patients with either a paper or
easily. In the below reviews, the researchers stated out electronic copy of their records which is inconvenience
the benefits of mobile-based technology for both to patients.[6]
intervention of behavior changes and self-managing
disease. Since PHR technology is steadily increasing and
demanding among most of the developed country but it
A study has studied that 75 trials outcomes of patients stills a product that is unaware by most of the citizen in
in receiving their intervention by using mobile some country especially Malaysian. In United States, it
technology. The result has shown a statistic of 26 trials is expected to have seventy million to access to PHRs,
used it to change their health behaviors and their health however the usage is still low. As the demand for
lifestyles while the remaining 59 trails is resulted to electronic health records is demanding rapidly, the
manage low quality disease management, normally patients are desperately looking for more reliable and
from the high-income countries. In one high-quality easy access solutions to keep tracks their health records
trial that used text messages to improve adherence to and managing their records which results the idea of
antiretroviral therapy among HIV-positive patients in storing PHRs into electronic personal device which is
Kenya, the intervention significantly reduced the mobile application.
patients’ viral load but did not significantly reduce
mortality (the observed reduction in deaths may have By this supports for the problem statements, this
happened by chance) [3]. In two high-quality UK trials, mobile application Health Pocket is highly demand and
it will provide the better solution instead of storing in the cost is low, the providers able to invest in more
individual laptop or USB drives also eventually meets high-tech health devices to cures patients more
the user’s expectation. efficiently. This are the benefits of the Health Pocket
for the providers.
4. Aims and Objectives
For government, it greatly decrease the subsidies of
This study paper aims to give an overview the government to help the community to reduce the cost
importance and the impact of PHRs tracking and of medical of the country when everyone is self-
management in mobile application towards the managing their personal health records and regularly
community. check about their personal situation and having
The objectives of this study are to identify the discussion in Health Pocket forum and will be educated
purposes of developing PHRs tracking and through the forum itself. It might reduce the
management with mobile application at the same time government budget for subsiding community and
create a user-friendly design for the mobile application eventually contributes to a healthy community where
and eventually to deliver this mobile application to the everyone is educated to be healthy. Therefore, Health
stakeholders like patients and providers to ease their Pocket idea should be considered to make everyone life
access to their personal health records. healthy and happy.
These are the research questions should be discussed in For implementing this mobile application, a survey
this research paper: will be conducted to identify the public opinions
towards this idea. A quick survey will be initiated
i) What is Personal Health Record (PHR)? through Survey Monkey to get the results of the survey
ii) What is the purpose of PHRs to be as well as having a survey to patients, providers as well
applied to mobile application? as the Ministry of Health about this idea before
iii) What are the types of PHRs? implementing it. Based on the results of the survey,
iv) How effective is the mobile technology in 90% of the people who done the surveys agrees that
health care? this is a great idea which the positive feedbacks
v) What are the challenges faced by motivate to initialize this project.
implementing PHRs in mobile
application? Another method of gathering data is through
vi) What PHRs mobile application benefits questionnaires, a series of fixed questions will be asked
to all the stakeholders and community? to all the possible future users of this mobile
application. The questions basically asking about:
6. Significance of the work
i) Where do you store your health records
PHRs storing in mobile application, it is worth to currently?
implement as it brings a lot of benefits to the ii) What do you think of PHR mobile
community mainly to the patients, providers, application?
government, community. iii) What are the features that you will be
interested to have it in the PHR mobile
Benefits to patients, as mentioned in purpose of PHRs application?
it is the similar as benefits patients able to easily keeps
track their personal health records, medical histories The analysis data obtained from surveys and
and other information. By tethering to the providers questionnaires, it is then be analyze through content
like hospitals, health care centers and physicians is a analysis method and narrative analysis and eventually
convenient and faster way of communicating with the presented in a bar chart the end final-result.
providers and perform some transactions. Throughout
this Health Pocket, it has a community forum session Once the data elicitations and data analysis are done, it
which allows the patients to share among the is proceeding to the selection of methodology to be
community about the common health issues they are used to develop this mobile application. The
facing as well sharing the healthy diet lifestyle and methodology that chosen is Rapid Application
their diet plans as well. Development (RAD).
Providers like hospitals, clinics, health care centers The key of choosing RAD as it is a efficient approach
and physician, when the mobile application is tethered to develop this application as it is fast and focus on
to them. It makes the process easy as patients will self- prototyping while welcoming changes in future.
manage their own health records and perform Besides that, it also hires only experienced software
transactions like renewal prescriptions and others in developer which saves a lot of cost of hiring
this mobile application. This greatly increase the intermediate developers. The first stage of the RAD
efficiency of the providers and decreasing their budget basically is requirement planning which is the meeting
of keeping patients records in paper-based PHR. While
of stakeholders to discuss the requirements and their Commentators have noted that in clinics with
expectation, the breakdown of the first phase is: underserved patient populations, portal use is
particularly low. Likewise, people with disabilities and
i) Researching the current problem of the elderly may be unable to take advantage of PHRs
PHRs. because of physical or mental limitations. If physicians
ii) Collecting all the stakeholder’s rely on PHRs to communicate with patients, those who
requirements. do not use them (often members of vulnerable
iii) Finalize the requirements and get populations) will be significantly disadvantaged.[7]
approval from stakeholders.
For the second phase of RAD, the user design which 8. Overview of the Proposed System
all the stakeholders must participate in this mobile
application design session and discuss what the design System Architecture
they want and software designers will create a
prototype for the stakeholder to view and if any Health Pocket architecture is basically three tier-
changes it will be make during this phase until it is architecture. For the presenting layer is basically the
fully satisfied. Next phase is rapid construction, which mobile application interface which users able to
the steps are breakdown as below: performs all the functions and then pass it to the server
side, for this server is using cloud-based virtual private
i) Rapid construction preparation. server to store database, applications and stuff which is
ii) Mobile application development. using Microsoft Azure. While after communicating
iii) Software engineer do coding. with the server side, it is then update or retrieve the
iv) Software Testing. data from the database side (using MySQL). This
architecture is applied to all types of PHRs connection
The last phase of the RAD, the Cutover method. like tethering to providers, providers has to login to the
Since it is a completely new system, it will be in Pilot Azure to do integration with their information system.
Changeover method which a group of users will be This application is highly secured with cloud flare
given to use the application first, if the application is multiple encryption level and being encrypted with
working fine then it will be totally released to the SSL as well. This mobile application supports both
public. IOS and Android version and developed using Java and
Swift.
These are limitations in this mobile application, which
are firstly is the patients are over relies to physicians or Below Figure 1.3 is the architecture of Health Pocket.
health care providers instruction instead of trusting the
truthful answers and the solutions as well as the
consistency of physician to promote this mobile
application to patients, the researchers presented the
idea of this PHR mobile application but end up patients
are over relies with what physicians asks them to do. It
may a slow acceptance rate and slow growing
application as not all the nation can adapt to the mobile
application as quickly to cut over the previous paper
based PHR or health records that printed by EHR in
provider system.
Criteria weig
C6 Research Methodology 10
C9 Presentation 10
Presentati
C10 on (20%) Slides Quality 5
C11 Questions and Answers 5
Total Mark of this assignment * 100
Comments:
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Excellent description of the A very good description of the Clear description of the Description of the proposed
proposed system is provided, proposed system is provided, proposed system is provided system is provided, with some
detailing the detailing the with very little omissions omissions in description or
(C7) Overview of System features/functionality and features/functionality and the deliverables.
(10%) how it addresses the problem how it addresses the problem
statement. Description is statement.
supported by appropriate
diagrams
There is full, accurate, and Source are generally cited Citations are mostly done, and References and citations are
(C8) Citations and professional citations of very correctly, the majority of references are up to date, but acceptable, but lack of high
recent sources and reliable references are recent and there are some outdated and quality and professional
References (5%) references with correct reliable, and format is mostly non-reliable sources, suitable sources, acceptable format
format. correct. format. with some mistakes.