The use of smartphones on General Internal Medicine wards

K. Tran; D. Morra; V. Lo; S. Quan; R. Wu

doi:10.4338/ACI-2014-02-RA-0011

Applied Clinical Informatics, Table of Contents

Appl Clin Inform 2014; 05(03): 814-816
DOI: 10.4338/ACI-2014-02-RA-0011

Research Article

Schattauer GmbH

The use of smartphones on General Internal Medicine wards

A mixed methods study

Authors

K. Tran

¹Centre for Innovation in Complex Care, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada
D. Morra

²Institute for Better Health, Trillium Health Partners, Mississauga, Canada
V. Lo

¹Centre for Innovation in Complex Care, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada
S. Quan

²Institute for Better Health, Trillium Health Partners, Mississauga, Canada
R. Wu

¹Centre for Innovation in Complex Care, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada

³Division of General Internal Medicine, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada

Abstract

Summary

Objective: To describe the uses of institutional and personal smartphones on General Internal Medicine wards and highlight potential consequences from their use.

Methods: A mixed methods study consisting of both quantitative and qualitative research methods was conducted in General Internal Medicine wards across four academic teaching hospitals in Toronto, Ontario. Participants included medical students, residents, attending physicians and allied health professionals. Data collection consisted of work shadowing observations, semi-structured interviews and surveys.

Results: Personal smartphones were used for both clinical communication and non-work-related activities. Clinicians used their personal devices to communicate with their medical teams and with other medical specialties and healthcare professionals. Participants understood the risks associated with communicating confidential health information via their personal smartphones, but appear to favor efficiency over privacy issues. From survey responses, 9 of 23 residents (39%) reported using their personal cell phones to email or text patient information that may have contained patient identifiers. Although some residents were observed using their personal smartphones for non-work-related activities, personal use was infrequent and most residents did not engage in this activity.

Conclusion: Clinicians are using personal smartphones for work-related purposes on the wards. With the increasing popularity of smartphone devices, it is anticipated that an increasing number of clinicians will use their personal smartphones for clinical work. This trend poses risks to the secure transfer of confidential personal health information and may lead to increased distractions for clinicians.

Citation: Tran K, Morra D, Lo V, Quan S, Wu R. The use of smartphones on General Internal Medicine wards: A mixed methods study. Appl Clin Inf 2014; 5: 814–823

http://dx.doi.org/10.4338/ACI-2014-02-RA-0011

Keywords

Smartphone - communication - clinician - healthcare

Full Text

References

References
1 Franko OI, Tirrell TF. Smartphone App Use Among Medical Providers in ACGME Training Programs. J Med Syst 2012; 36 (05) 3135-3139.
2 Manhattan Research.. New York: Manhattan Research LLC; c2011–2013 [cited 2013 May 10]. Physician smartphone adoption rate to reach 81% in 2012. Available from: http://manhattanresearch.com/News-and-Events/Press-Releases/physician-smartphones-2012.
3 Wu RC, Tran K, Lo V, O’Leary KJ, Morra D, Quan SD, Perrier L. Effects of clinical communication interventions in hospitals: A systematic review of information and communication technology adoptions for improved communication between clinicians. Int J Med Inform 2012; 81 (11) 723-732.
4 Wu RC, Lo V, Morra D, Wong BM, Sargeant R, Locke K, Cavalcanti R, Quan SD, Rossos P, Tran K, Cheung M. The intended and unintended consequences of communication systems on general internal medicine inpatient care delivery: a prospective observational case study of five teaching hospitals. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2013; 20 (Suppl. 04) 766-777.
5 Wong BM, Quan S, Cheung CM, Morra D, Rossos PG, Sivjee K, Wu R, Etchells EE. Frequency and clinical importance of pages sent to the wrong physician. Arch Intern Med 2009; 169 (11) 1072-1073.
6 Wu RC, Morra D, Quan S, Lai S, Zanjani S, Abrams H, Rossos PG. The use of smartphones for clinical communication on internal medicine wards. J Hosp Med 2010; 5 (09) 553-559.
7 Wu R, Rossos P, Quan S, Reeves S, Lo V, Wong B, Cheung M, Morra D. An evaluation of the use of smart-phones to communicate between clinicians: a mixed-methods study. J Med Internet Res 2011; 13 (03) e59.
8 Baumgart DC. Smartphones in Clinical Practice, Medical Education, and Research. Arch Intern Med 2011; 171 (14) 1294-1296.
9 Wu RC, Morra D, Quan S, Lai S, Zanjani S, Abrams H, Rossos PG. The use of smartphones for clinical communication on internal medicine wards. J Hosp Med 2010; 5 (09) 553-559.
10 Lu YC, Xiao Y, Sears A, Jacko JA. A review and a framework of handheld computer adoption in healthcare. Int J Med Inform 2005; 74 (05) 409-422.
11 O’Connor C, Friedrich JO, Scales DC, Adhikari NK. The use of wireless e-mail to improve healthcare team communication. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2009; 16 (05) 705-713.
12 Johnson RB, Onwuegbuzie AJ, Turner LA. Toward a definition of mixed methods research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research 2007; 1 (02) 112-133.
13 Wallace S, Clark M, White J. ’It’s on my iPhone’: attitudes to the use of mobile computing devices in medical education, a mixed-methods study. BMJ Open 2012; 2: e001099.
14 Solvoll T, Scholl J, Hartvigsen G. Physicians interrupted by mobile devices in hospitals: understanding the interaction between devices, roles, and duties. J Med Internet Res 2013; 15 (03) e56.
15 Braun V, Clarke V. Using thematic research in psychology. Qual Res Psychol 2006; 3 (02) 77-101.
16 Personal Health Information Protection Act. ,2004, SO 2004, c 11, s 128 (May 20, 2004).
17 Rosenfield D, Hebert PC, Stanbrook MB, MacDonald NE, Flegel K. Being smarter with smartphones. CMAJ 2011; 183 (18) E1276.
18 Visvanathan A, Gibb AP, Brady RR. Increasing clinical presence of mobile communication technology: avoiding the pitfalls. Telemed J E Health 2011; 17 (08) 656-661.
19 Ross S, Forgie S. Distracted doctoring: Smartphones before patients?. CMAJ. 2012; 184 (12) 1440.
20 Katz-Sidlow RJ, Ludwig A, Miller S, Sidlow R. Smartphone use during inpatient attending rounds: prevalence, patterns and potential for distraction. J Hosp Med 2012; 7 (08) 595-599.
21 Haroon M, Yasin F, Eckel R, Walker F. Perceptions and attitudes of hospital staff toward paging system and the use of mobile phones. Int J Technol Assess Health Care 2010; 26 (04) 377-381.