Health Maintenance Organization-mHealth Versus Face-to-Face Interaction for Health Care in Israel: Cross-Sectional...

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Services Research
• Medical Informatics

Background:

• Health maintenance organization mobile health (HMO-mHealth) services are increasingly adopted by healthcare organizations.
• While HMO-mHealth apps offer efficiency and accessibility, user perception significantly influences adoption rates.
• Patients often prefer mHealth tools to complement, not replace, face-to-face healthcare interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the extent to which Israeli adults prefer utilizing HMO-mHealth services as a substitute for traditional face-to-face interactions.
• To analyze the factors influencing the adoption of HMO-mHealth services versus in-person consultations among Israeli adults.

Main Methods:

• An electronic questionnaire was administered to Israeli adults aged 18 years and older.
• Data collection occurred between December 2020 and February 2021, mapping 29 common services across four major Israeli HMO-mHealth applications.
• Logistic regression models analyzed the association between sociodemographic characteristics, health status, and service type preference.

Main Results:

• A significant majority (80.9%-88.2%) preferred HMO-mHealth apps for administrative tasks.
• Over half of respondents preferred face-to-face interactions for initial medical diagnosis (55.3%), treatment (52.2%), and diagnosis results (46.9%).
• Key factors influencing preference included gender, age, education, marital status, religious affiliation, and subjective health perception, with females and married individuals showing distinct preferences.

Conclusions:

• HMO-mHealth services are effective for healthcare delivery but face adoption barriers, particularly for vulnerable populations.
• Customization of mHealth applications is recommended for older adults, individuals with chronic illnesses, and minority groups.
• Future research should identify and address specific barriers hindering mHealth utilization in these populations.