Usage of a Mobile Medical Information System: An Investigation of Physicians in the Military Service

This paper sets out to investigate military physicians’ perceptions and usage regarding a mobile medical information system during their military service in the Finnish Defence Forces. Data were gathered in September and December of 2005 by two semi-structured surveys. The military physicians (n=31) had positive perceptions of the mobile system, and have used it in their daily military training. They showed a few negative opinions on the usefulness of the system in the real military field conditions and crisis situations. They favoured using the mobile system to support their learning and training, and keep their medical knowledge up-to-date anywhere and anytime. Insights of the findings and implications for system improvement are discussed.