Dear HIFA colleagues,
We are now completing our ‘preparatory’ phase and entering the ‘thematic discussion’ phase. Below are the five topics for the thematic discussion – as you’ll see, the focus is on what can be done to maximise the positives and minimise the negatives of informal phone use. Your individual contributions to this discussion are especially important as they will feed into the policy meeting on this topic at WHO Geneva on 6 June. Please send comments to hifa@hifaforums.org
and I’ll ensure they are circulated. Here are the five topics we are addressing consecutively over the next 5 weeks:
Topic 1: How can we maximise the positive aspects of informal mobile phone use (flexibility, convenience etc.)?
Topic 2: What strategies could be used to address the ways in which informal mobile phone use can blur boundaries between healthcare workers’ personal and work lives?
Topic 3: What strategies could be used to address the potential for informal mobile phone use to undermine patients’ privacy and confidentiality and the legal implications of informal use for healthcare workers?
Topic 4: What strategies could be used to help ensure that the healthcare system is not undermined when information is not formally shared and stored as a consequence of informal use?
Topic 5: What strategies could be used to address the cost implications of informal mobile phone use for healthcare workers?
Please consider what you can say on any of the above topics. You don’t have to wait, you can send your comments at any time to: hifa@hifaforums.org
In case you missed it, Josephine Namitala and I put together a compilation of the first 28 messages here:
https://www.hifa.org/sites/default/files/articles/2025-mHEALTH-INNOVATE-...
We continue to welcome your inputs on any of the questions raised in our preparatory phase:
Q1: Are healthcare workers in your setting using their personal mobile phones for work tasks? And if so, what are they using them for?
Q2: To what extent do healthcare workers in your setting feel that the informal use of their personal mobile phone is expected of them? Are they driven by feelings of obligation towards colleagues and patients? Do their supervisors know that informal use is going on and what is their reaction to this practice?
Q3: In your setting, have healthcare workers found to use their mobile phones to help ensure easy access to colleagues and patients, while also protecting their personal life?
Q4: How do health workers and managers find a balance between the use of personal mobile phones for ‘legitimate’ tasks such as staying in touch with their children, and unnecessary distractions, such as social media use?
Q5: In your setting, do healthcare workers have concerns about patient confidentiality and privacy? How do they try to ensure that patient information remains confidential and secure?
Q6: In your setting, do healthcare workers in your setting have concerns about the legal implications of using their mobiles informally? Are these concerns similar to those from the UK and elsewhere?
Q7: Is it common in your setting for healthcare workers to have to cover the costs related to using their personal phone for work purposes? Do they feel similarly about this to healthcare workers in Ethiopia and other settings? And do you know of solutions to this problem in your setting?
Q8: In your setting, is loss to the healthcare system of patient or management information due to informal mobile phone use is an important issue, as in Thailand and other settings? How can healthcare workers who are using their personal mobile phones ensure that important information is available to those who need it?
Q9: Is healthcare workers’ personal phone use currently regulated in the workplace in your setting, for example through national policies or guidelines or local rules and regulations?
Q10: From your experience, how can we maximise the positive aspects of informal mobile phone use while addressing these challenges?
Here again is our landing page: https://www.hifa.org/news/mhealth-innovate-exploring-healthcare-workers-...
Many thanks, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org