مجله انفورماتیک سلامت و زیست پزشکی
سال هشتم شماره 4 (پیاپی 30، زمستان 1400)

As the use of health-related applications increased, researchers sought to analyze them from different angles such as function, technology, benefits, risks, etc., so that other researchers and the target community could be aware of the current status of these applications. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of Persian mobile applications designed for MS disease based on the Mobile Application Ranking Scale (MARS).

This study was conducted on Persian mobile applications related to MS in January 2020. To identify these applications, a combined search of keywords related to "MS" and "mobile application" was done. Considering the popularity of the Android platform for mobile phones in Iran, researchers searched for the mentioned keywords in the "Cafebazaar" application. The Mobile Application Ranking Scale was adopted to evaluate the quality of applications.

Ten applications were included in this study. The results showed that each application had a combination of goals, such as prevention (n=6), diagnosis (n=7), initial treatment (n=10), and disease control (n=1) to increase awareness of the disease. One of the goals of all applications was to inform the users about the initial treatment. The initial installation version of all ten apps was free, but eight of them needed in-app purchases to upgrade information. According to the MARS scores, none of the apps were suitable for helping patients.

The results showed that most Persian application designers have paid attention to the interactive aspects of applications and have neglected to provide scientific content. Developers of these applications are advised to evaluate them in the first place and then make them available to the public so that low-quality applications would not be available to patients.

Hospital information system (HIS) is a comprehensive software for integrating patient information for sending and exchanging health information between wards and other medical centers in order to accelerate the process of patient care and treatment, improve quality, and increase patient satisfaction. The advent of diverse and heterogeneous health care information systems in the field of e-health has led to interoperable problems. In this regard, this study aimed to provide the necessary architectural styles, to achieve an integrated HIS architecture, classified into six main categories, including distributed, dataflow, and modern systems.

In this strategic applied study, first, different types of HIS architectural models, their requirements, the concept of interoperability and its dimensions, and different types of architectural styles and their categories were examined. Then, according to HIS requirements and interoperability dimensions, the classification of architectural styles was proposed.

The results showed that the use of appropriate architectural styles facilitates the achievement of integrated architecture. The proposed classification of architectural styles is formed of six categories of systems including system of systems, shared memory, dataflow, calling, distributed, and modern systems.

Integration in HIS subsystems is one of the essentials in health systems. Applying the proposed classification supports architects in selecting interoperable requirements properly with the help of different architectural styles and placing them in the integrated HIS architectural design.

The Covid-19 outbreak crisis in 2019 ushered in a new chapter in the development of virtual communication systems. Social networks can be considered one of the most successful tools in the field of information technology which always plays an important role in such situations. Availability, low cost, high reliability, popularity, and scalability are some of the key features of social networks that make them very instrumental in telemedicine development.

In this research, a new cycle in telemedicine systems based on virtual social networks, through the agile development method, has been built up; so that the processes of prevention, identification, diagnosis, and treatment would be efficiently followed, using a social network with a robot-making platform for easy scalability.

 Considering the effects of events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, social networking platforms can be used as practical tools for screening, prevention, treatment, and treatment, due to their accessibility. To reduce the psychological burden on society in acute and special situations, these platforms can be adopted as a strategy for virtual therapy by healthcare staff.

The possibility of creating messaging platforms and developing interactive robots are among the advantages of social networks. This method is easy to develop and low-cost. Thus, a dynamic relationship with users through the possibility of telemedicine, acquired from messaging social networks, can be established.

Online queuing systems in medical centers significantly reduce waiting time and costs, and increase patient satisfaction with the quality of services provided. Service provisions with the desired quality through these systems will manage the crowds in the health care centers. In the current situation, gatherings cause an upward trend of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent problems for the clients. Therefore, identifying the indicators affecting the evaluation of service quality of queuing systems is essential and can be effective in improving medical services.

The present study is an applied research in terms of purpose, and a descriptive-analytical survey study in terms of data collection. Fifteen individuals living in Yazd city, including university professors, experts of medical centers, and users familiar with online appointment systems, formed the statistical population. In this study, in order to collect data, three types of questionnaires were distributed among experts.

The results of the study with the combined approach of AHP and fuzzy DEMATEL indicated that accuracy of appointment time and information, level of experience of site planners, the possibility of cancellation of booked appointments, and reliability of the system are the influential indicators.

Identifying the effective indicators of the online queuing system has played a very effective role in increasing the level of information exchange, reducing costs, especially during the corona outbreak, improving the quality of services provided by medical centers, and accordingly increasing patient satisfaction. The mentioned features have led to a significant increase in the use of online queuing systems in health care centers in recent years.

Polycystic ovary syndrome is a chronic disease with a wide range of complications. Due to the complexity of this syndrome, patients often suffer from limited knowledge. With the unprecedented growth of technology, smartphones have gained significant importance due to their availability to facilitate learning and increase self-awareness. This study aimed to identify the requirements of self-care applications for patients with polycystic ovary syndrome.

In this applied study, a quantitative-descriptive design was conducted in 2021. The requirements of the polycystic ovary syndrome applications including educational content, data elements, and features were assessed using needs assessments from patients and gynecologists. In this regard, a questionnaire was administered to patients (n=45) and gynecologists (n=17) in Fatemieh Educational and Medical Center in Hamadan, Iran. The obtained data (44 questionnaires) were analyzed by SPSS software version 24 using descriptive statistics and the necessary components were identified.

The findings indicated that in the view of patients and gynecologists, all educational components were considered necessary except learning the causes of the disease. Finally, out of 53 questioned features in 11 subjects, only “displaying self-care messages for the monthly menstrual cycle” and “messages for nocturnal sleep management” were identified as unnecessary.

The features presented in this study can be considered as a model for designing mobile applications for polycystic ovary syndrome.