Mobile support for community healthcare: A Janus view

Abstract

Mobile support, through powerful multimedia and communication devices, offers much promise to enhance the working environment. One area where substantial enhancements are possible, including considerable 'social good', is healthcare. The full infrastructure of the health systems can be brought to support the patient, irrespective of location. The role of community healthcare professionals could be considerably enhanced, enabling a fuller range of patient care to be provided in the community. However, applying such technologies are likely to have unforeseen consequences. This paper explores a 'Janus-faced' view of such technological changes to identify some of these unanticipated consequences. A case of district nurses in the UK is discussed, where technologies such as mobile phones are already being used. For the case, mobile technologies offer much potential, but this will require structural changes, not just in technology. © 2005 by International Federation for Information Processing.