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Avery Marshall

Doctor Ronald Berkowski

Intro to Health Informatics

12-2-2022

Mobile Health Application Review

For this assignment I used Kaiser Permanente’s mobile health application.

Overall this app was easy to use as well as useful. From being a streamlined way to

access the majority of needed health info to refilling prescriptions this application had

many helpful uses. I will be looking at the points of its supposed benefits to health, its

ease of use, log in process/time required, personal health improvement, likes and

dislikes about the app, and finally if it is viable for long term use.

The first point is looking at its proposed health benefits. The goal of this app is to

help Kaiser Permanente members access their medical health record, refill

prescriptions, view prescriptions, bill pay, view vaccine records, message health care

providers, and set up appointments. Overall this app provided a single stop for all of

these elements. In addition, finding the info desired was easy due to the app’s

accessibility. First viewing medical records was very easy as the app had a clear

section to tap on if this was desired to be viewed. When viewed one could look at

allergies, personal action plan, letters, immunization records, health conditions,

questionnaires, and eyewear prescriptions. Refilling prescriptions was as easy as

tapping on prescriptions and hitting refill with the option of both in person pickup and

mail order. This was the case for bill pay as well. Messaging healthcare providers was

easy as well. You would tap message, compose message, and then a list of your
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providers would appear in a drop down menu. From all of this by providing an

streamlined way to view the medical record, maintain prescriptions, and message

providers it allows the person to have a greater impact on their health. This is vital as it

allows the person to be involved in their care and access their records without a lot of

work.

As far as ease of use goes this application was extremely easy to use. This was

touched upon in the previous paragraph however it bears repeating. The application is

one that is easily accessible even if someone is less skilled with current technology. All

the sections are clearly marked and easily accessible with the tap of the finger. The

language used is easy to understand and staying in contact with your providers is as

simple as opening the app. For example, when looking at labs one can see your results

and then what the average numbers are. In addition, when looking at vaccines there is a

section with an encyclopedia that has information in regards to the disease and the

vaccine. When reading this it was easy to understand and seemed to be accessible

even for those without a medical background. The only difficulty with using it is having to

remember one’s password and username however there is a section if that is forgotten.

Furthermore, I even tested this function out and was surprised at the ease of recovering

one’s password if need be. There was also an option with a phone number to call if one

needed someone on the phone to help them reset it. This function also appeared to be

relatively safe as it required certain info to recover the password that usually only the

patient would have access to (ie. email).

When looking at login and time using this app it was very easy to log into (as long

as you remember your credentials) and time spent is very minimal. This app provides
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log in security as every time your close the app the person is signed out. However,

signing back in takes all of 10-20 seconds and whenever I signed in I was quickly taken

to my information with minimal loading time. When looking at time used as mentioned

was very minimal. This app has a very user friendly interface, quick load times, and

sections are clearly labeled. This allows for minimal time of use. In addition, when using

the app for whatever intended purpose it is rather quick. The longest part for me was

ordering prescriptions as I had to enter payment information. However, that at most,

took approximately 3 minutes. The second aspect of the app that is mildly time

consuming is scheduling appointments. This took me anywhere from 5-10 minutes due

to the doctors availability as well as my own. This is not necessarily an issue with the

app but rather my own schedule. So from this it can be seen that the app is user friendly

in regards to log in credentials and time of use.

When looking at personal health improvement I would say I have had a positive

change. It is mainly that I spend less time using the app for its functions. Prior to this

assignment I would typically use the Safari browser to access the Kaiser website which

took a bit longer than the app. In addition, the website can be a bit temperamental on

my phone for whatever reason. It helped to improve my health as I had less stress due

to technical difficulties. Furthermore, it saved time and allowed me to easily refill

prescriptions and make doctors appointments which was a tad more difficult on the

browser.

Next is looking at the likes/dislikes or pros and cons of this app. There was not a

lot of identified dislikes with this app as it was a great improvement compared to the

browser. I really liked everything about this app as it was accessible, easy to use,
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information was streamlined, health information was easy to understand, and made

scheduling appointments easier and quicker as I did not have to call. Furthermore,

ordering prescription was very helpful because with a tap I could have medications

delivered to my house. This saved me a bit of time as I did not have to call them in or

drive to the pharmacy to pick them up. The only potential con I found was that this app

did not require two factor authentication. This would just add another layer of security

with the trade off of some extra time being spent logging in. However, the app offered a

feature of being able to sign in with face identification. This is similar to the same feature

on the iPhone. This feature may add that extra layer of security that is missing without

two factor authentication. Overall, the security on the app seemed strong due to

automatically logging me out of my account after use. Of course there is the risk of

someone stealing your phone while the app is open or looking over your shoulder,

however this can be easily curbed by not using the app in public.

The Kaiser Permanente mobile application is one that appears to be viable in the

long term. As mentioned I have been using the browser version however after switching

to the app I will most likely stay here. The app is well set up, useful, and secure. These

factors bode well for long term viability of this application. Personally I can see myself

using this app long term as I do not have any plans to change my insurance. In addition,

my prescription medications will still need to be filled, my medical history will still need to

be accessed (ex. vaccine information for my work), and doctors appointments will still

need to be made. This app makes all of these factors easy to complete and provides a

streamlined access to all the above mentioned factors.

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The Kaiser Permanente mobile application is useful, beneficial, and viable. From

providing easy access to medical records to refilling prescriptions with the tap of a finger

this app provides a lot of great things. It saves on time of having to call and be on wait.

In addition, it has built in security features to help keep information safe within reason.

The only security downside I could find was the lack of two factor authentication for

sign-in. This is definitely a feature that could be implemented however with the other

security features it already appears to be a secure app. From all these positive things

this application is a viable one as it provides so many great and necessary features in

an easy, accessible, and streamlined application.