Towards Better Remote Healthcare Experiences: An mHealth Video Conferencing System for Improving Healthcare Outcomes

This work investigated how to combine mobile cloud computing, video conferencing and user interface design principles to promote the effectiveness and the ease of using online healthcare appointment platforms. The Jitsi Meet video conference technology was selected from amongst 27 competing systems based on efficiency and security criteria. This platform was used as the foundation on which we designed, developed and evaluated of our video conferencing system specifically designed for improving doctor-patient interaction and experiences. Nine doctor-patient functions were developed in order to facilitate efficient and effective online healthcare appointments, such as providing the doctor with the ability to collect specific video and images and full integration with existing Electronic Medical Records (EMR). The effectiveness and usability of our system were evaluated by 36 participants–31 laypersons acting as patients and doctors, and 5 actual healthcare professionals. The mean System Usability Scale (SUS) usability score was 76 (high) indicating an overall positive UI design and effective system.