BACKGROUND: The implementation of mobile phone apps for patient care in hospital settings requires careful consideration of many challenges. We developed and pilot-tested a mobile app to support nursing workflow at the bedside in our institution, and are currently deploying our solution on a large scale.

AIM: In this paper, we present our considerations and approach to the large-scale deployment of our mobile app.

METHOD: We reviewed our experience in designing and developing this mobile app from its creation to its deployment. We identified prior and new challenges when preparing for large scale deployment, and discuss our approaches to overcome these challenges.

RESULTS: We identified the specific challenges encountered during large-scale deployment and addressed a large range of problems including maintenance, security, logistics and acceptance aspects of such a deployment.

DISCUSSION: Issues encountered at early stages of the development process must be reconsidered during large-scale deployment. The rapidly evolving context, such as the technology and the stakeholders' opinions, can influence the acceptability and more generally the overall feasibility of the envisioned solutions. Adopting an incremental approach can allow for adjustments during the take-off process.