Perceptions on mobile health in the primary healthcare setting in Belgium.

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of the adult general population and family physicians in Belgium regarding the use of mobile health applications (apps) in primary care.

Methods: An online survey composed of multiple-choice questions was administered to the participants. Specific questionnaires for physician and non-physician respondents were used.

Results: One hundred and eleven adult participants from the general population and 23 family physicians completed the survey. In the general population, 41% selected "general health check-ups" as their preferred implementation of mobile health. Among family physicians, 17% preferred to implement mobile health in the first place for the monitoring of chronically ill patients and 17% for the monitoring of recently hospitalised patients.

Conclusions: Resistance to mobile health services persists in the general population and among family physicians. The quality of the apps and the impersonal nature of the contact are major issue in the future use of mobile health applications.