Table 4 Thematic analysis of physicians' insights regarding HAC app

Current version of HAC app: strengths & weaknesses

User interface

"I think the icons are really clear."

"HAC app was easy to use"

"The visibility of screen was appropriate."

"Help tab was unclear; because it was located at the bottom of “About us” tab."

Usefulness

"Providing an electronic guideline with a capability to search would support its accessibility; however, it is not efficient to be used at patient bedside".

The navigation between diagnosis, symptoms, and pages was a bit awkward."

"It was suitable for reading not practical at the point of care; Actually, at the point of care, I need something which speeds up my workflow and productivity."

"We mostly need mobile devices for prompt decision making. So, it is apparent that in these kind of situations we do not have time to search and read something. We seek suggestions, instead".

Functionality

"It is easy to know what to do/where to move to perform tasks."

"Lack of proper search capabilities: once the search was made, the term was highlighted in the app (e.g. headache); providing a long list of conditions which enclose the term "Headache" make it confusing."

"Lack of information layering; since the mobile screen is too small, providing a long list of search results make it time demanding and inefficient."

"Unclear status: “not entirely clear if I actually completed the task”, since there is no feedback if you complete the task."

"I believe the small size of the mobile screen makes it difficult to work with; In fact, searching information from a long list of symptoms or diseases in the form of a mobile LCD was hard and time-consuming."

Physicians' expectations of HAC app next version

Effectiveness

"Maybe developing a disease-specific app which focuses on CT scan appropriateness criteria for one or two diseases be more helpful."

"I prefer app to assist me in the prediction of the next step for patient treatment; something could help me for decision-making, for example, interpreting the CT scan."

"Perhaps rather than providing an electronic guideline with a capability to search from the list of disease or symptoms, providing a kind of algorithm for complex neurological conditions would provide more clinical value."

"I prefer those applications that I can enter the patient's signs and symptoms and it lets me know which imaging procedure is suitable for the given patient."