BACKGROUND: Mobile health (mHealth) is increasingly being used in contemporary health care provision owing to its portability, accessibility, ability to facilitate communication, improved interprofessional collaboration, and benefits for health outcomes. However, there is limited discourse on patient safety in real-world mHealth implementation, especially as care settings extend beyond traditional center-based technology usage to home-based care. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore health care professionals' perspectives on the safety aspects of mHealth integration in real-world service provision, focusing on Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) and Wuhan city in mainland China. In Hong Kong SAR, real-world mHealth care provision is largely managed by the Hospital Authority, which has released various mobile apps for home-based care, such as Stoma Care, Hip Fracture, and HA Go. In contrast, mHealth care provision in Wuhan is institutionally directed, with individual hospitals or departments using consultation apps, WeChat mini-programs, and the WeChat Official Accounts Platform (a subapp within the WeChat ecosystem). METHODS: A multicenter qualitative study design was used. A total of 27 participants, including 22 nurses and 5 physicians, from 2 different health care systems were interviewed individually. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 32.19 (SD 3.74) years, and the mean working experience was 8.04 (SD 4.05) years. Most participants were female (20/27, 74%). Nearly half of the participants had a bachelor's degree (13/27, 48%), some had a master's degree (9/27, 33%), and few had a diploma degree (3/27, 11%) or a doctoral degree (2/27, 7%). Four themes emerged from the data analysis. Considering the current uncertainties surrounding mHealth implementation, participants emphasized "liability" concerns when discussing patient safety. They emphasized the need for "change management," which includes appropriate referral processes, adequate resources and funding, informed mHealth usage, and efficient working processes. They cautioned about the risks in providing mHealth information without ensuring understanding, appreciated the current regulations available, and identified additional regulations that should be considered to ensure information security. CONCLUSIONS: As health care systems increasingly adopt mHealth solutions globally to enhance both patient care and operational efficiency, it becomes crucial to understand the implications for patient safety in these new care models. Health care professionals recognized the importance of patient safety in making mHealth usage reliable and sustainable. The promotion of mHealth should be accompanied by the standardization of mHealth services with institutional, health care system, and policy-level support. This includes fostering mHealth acceptance among health care professionals to encourage appropriate referrals, accommodate changes, ensure patient comprehension, and proactively identify and address threats to information security.

Clinical Exercise Physiology and Rehabilitation Research Laboratory Department of Physiotherapy Faculty of Health Sciences University of Thessaly Lamia Greece

Community Nursing Service Heaven of Hope Hospital Hong Kong China

Department of Physical Therapy Temerty Faculty of Medicine University of Toronto Toronto ON Canada

Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic

Department of Public Health Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic

Department of Rehabilitation University Hospital Brno Brno Czech Republic

Elaine Hubbard Center for Nursing Research on Aging School of Nursing University of Rochester Medical Center Rochester NY United States

KITE Research Institute University Health Network Toronto ON Canada

Rehabilitation Clinic Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic

School of Journalism and Communication Shanghai University Shanghai China

School of Nursing The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong China

School of Nursing Tung Wah College Hong Kong China

Translational Research Centre for Digital Mental Health Tung Wah College Hong Kong China

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