BACKGROUND
The rapid growth and development of mobile and wireless technologies provides great potential to improve healthcare around the world, especially in low and middle-income countries. The application of eHealth could provide numerous benefits to healthcare systems, however there are still knowledge gaps, particularly in Latin America.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to assess the preferences, perceptions, and barriers of mobile technologies among physicians in Latin America.
METHODS
We conducted an anonymous cross-sectional survey study in 640 Ecuadorian physicians. This questionnaire consisted of 13 items about demographic data and preferences, perceptions and barriers for eHealth use by physicians. Chi-square tests for goodness of fit and independence were performed, whilst Phi coefficient was interpreted to assess the strength of associations. Fisher exact test was performed when required.
RESULTS
: More than 90% of physicians reported that they use ICTs to message other physicians and patients (p=.000). While 89.5% individuals use social media to interact with other physicians, only 58.1% use them to interact with patients (p=.000). Finally, almost all physicians reported that they use ICTs to search academic information (p=.000). Moreover, more than 80.0% agree that eHealth may be used to promote health and medical services, search new job opportunities, get involved in research projects and promote teamwork with colleagues. However, 83.6% physicians expressed concerns about privacy and patient confidentiality, while 53.8% stated that they lacked the time to use eHealth resources.
CONCLUSIONS
High usage of eHealth applications was found among Ecuadorian physicians. Additionally, most of younger physicians, with less postgraduate years, and non-specialists had a positive perception toward eHealth technologies. Privacy and patient confidentiality, followed by time management, were the most reported barriers in our study.