Usage Assessment of Electronic Prescribing Application Deployment Platforms

Proliferation of robust user-centric applications has gained a significant growth due to widespread influx of mobile and web-enabled service-oriented devices. Today, a number of electronic prescribing applications (EPAs) are available on mobile and web platforms but user acceptability and satisfaction of the platform to access such applications is highly imperative to realizing the primary objective of automating the prescription service. In this paper, the end-user’s most preferred platform for accessing EPAs developed for web and mobile platforms is investigated. Comparative analysis was conducted based on certain assessment factors, that can influence the user’s choice of either mobile or web platform to access EPAs, including cost, ease-of-use, mobility, privacy and security. Relevant data obtained from questionnaires and oral interviews constitute the primary data used for the analysis. Frequency and percentages are the descriptive techniques used to present the results. The results obtained reveal that users prefer mobile platform to web platform in terms of privacy, mobility, cost and security. However, in terms of ease of use, the web platform is preferred to mobile. This paper will assist software developers to make sound and knowledgeable decisions on what electronic platform is best suited to deploy user-centric health-related and EPAs which can account for wider user acceptability and satisfaction derived.