Mhealth: A Better Alternative For Healthcare In Developing Countries

Propelled by the continual improvements in mobile wireless communications, mobile health (mHealth) is emerging as a significant player in addition to conventional services. Health care Researchers have focused on quality which is an antecedent to service design. There is a significant gap in the literature with respect to both inter and intra health care service delivery systems. A quantitative comparison of health care services provides insights into whether service alternatives are distinguishable from each other and if so, what factors contribute to the differentiation from the patients’ perspective. With this motivation, a multiple discriminant analysis is performed on various health care services including a B2C mHealth service in a developing country to unearth the patients’ perceptions. The outcome of this maiden attempt can assist multiple stakeholders of health care industry. The comparative insights and House of Quality (HoQ) model can also help in services design. Ubiquity, interaction quality and value have been identified to have significant influence on the patients’ attitude towards health care services. mHealth has been favourably rated than other services. Service providers and governments of developing countries can utilise these insights to enhance their services and work towards efficient delivery alternatives in achieving quality health care for all.