To conduct mHealth research, you will either create a mobile health platform or use an already existing platform.  The following resource will help you navigate your partnership with a 3rd party technology vendor.

The mHRC has found the following steps helpful when trying to choose the 3rd Party platform of best fit for your project:

  1. Identify your priority minimal viable product, and identify vendors that meet that need
  2. Establish communication with the product representative
  3. Request a demo
  4. Ask to review the company’s relevant product use cases
  5. If appropriate, contact or request to contact at least 1 to 2 clients who are currently using the product
  6. Determine how long the product has been in use (aka: on the market)
  7. Ask how the product has been tested before it went “live”
  8. Explore the product maintenance plan (for software updates and bug fixes)
  9. Find out about the license agreement or cost modeling for using the product
  10. Determine where the data will be stored (at the University or in a cloud based server/database)
  11. Establish who will have oversight for vetting the compliance of the technology to the regulations that govern the study
Check out a more detailed approach for what to consider when establishing a relationship with a 3rd Party technology vendor.
Using or Creating an mHealth platform