tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2258075504342017882.comments2022-07-23T06:14:35.597-07:00manufactured_uncertaintymisanthropic anthropologist, phdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11677126577906367649noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2258075504342017882.post-79880923172573198562013-03-19T08:11:40.337-07:002013-03-19T08:11:40.337-07:00Hi, I work in public health, and the organization ...Hi, I work in public health, and the organization that I work for is getting jumping on the mhealth bandwagon, without much critical relection. I have been looking for scholarly critiques of mhealth (especially its use in global south) to share with colleagues but have not found much. Do you have any recommendations? Thanks c@honduras.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2258075504342017882.post-30102726782038906092011-07-19T09:51:50.974-07:002011-07-19T09:51:50.974-07:00True, Alex, and I like your optimism (and thanks f...True, Alex, and I like your optimism (and thanks for your feedback!). But I think what has happened is that there is the assumption that all doctors are ultimately doing the same thing. There's stuff that requires some individualization (which is why we go see a physician, rather than just look things up online) and there are a lot of actors involved in the care of one patient (nurses, medical assistants, billing offices, transcribers, doctors, referrals, insurance companies, pharma companies, diagnostic services, etc.), so trying to streamline a digital solution that spans all those steps is pretty challenging. I don't think it's impossible, but there needs to be some kernel of standardization. <br /><br />One of my favorite stories (because I'm kind of an old person, deep down, or not so deep) is the Baltimore fire story -- where the lack of standardization for fire hydrants actually prevented the fire from being contained. Lots of neighboring towns came to help put out the fire, but their hoses didn't fit the hydrants in Baltimore. There are some things that really do benefit immensely from a standard formatting. And while the government's main reason, I think, for incentivizing EMRs comes from the ability to collect a ton of epidemiological/population data, there's an accountability, too, to generate a baseline from which everyone can work. And the iPhone/android PC/Mac divide is really a huge time waster. I'm not arguing for Communist-era limited choice, but there are places, I think where the branding of tools actually hampers innovation quite significantly. I'm mostly arguing that there are times when the branding/distinctive attributes that don't play well with others can really harm true innovation (not just "novelty").misanthropic anthropologist, phdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11677126577906367649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2258075504342017882.post-23031458214844237442011-07-18T20:33:48.402-07:002011-07-18T20:33:48.402-07:00I agree with you in principle on this one. I'm...I agree with you in principle on this one. I'm occasionally surprised, however, at phenomena/innovations that cut through all of the process-documentation that you're describing.<br /><br />Things like the Palm, the iPhone, the iPad, etc. jumped over the hurdle that you're describing by being SO smooth/pretty/easy that their users were/are willing to work around a number of limitations that the same users would probably call 'critical' otherwise. I've seen it happen on literally dozens of web projects that involved translating existing business workflows into webpages. If the thing *feels* smooth enough to use, things that seemed critical no longer do.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16175208785597346415noreply@blogger.com