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Study shows increased use of mobile devices in clinical settings
Use of mobile devices as a tool in the clinical setting among orthopedic surgeons and trainees has increased during a 48-month period, according to results.
From August 2010 to August 2014, researchers sent a questionnaire to 678 institutions to evaluate the use of mobile devices and applications among trainees and physicians in the clinical setting. Researchers collected data at seven time points from 467, 622, 329, 223, 237, 111 and 134 orthopedic caregivers during a 48-month period.
Orrin I. Franko
Results showed an increase in the number of providers with Smartphone devices during the 4-year period. Smartphone application use within practice also increased from 59% in 2010 to 84% in 2014 for trainees and from 41% to 62% during 2010 to 2011 for attending surgeons. These rates were around 55% to 60% through 2014 for attending surgeons, according to results. From December 2011 through August 2014, researchers found the use of tablets for medical decisions ranged from 43% to 51% for trainees and from 31% to 39% for attending surgeons.
Although most surgeons believed their hospital or institution should support Smartphone use, results showed 50% of orthopedic surgeons responded positively when asked whether their hospital or institution actually supported mobile devices in the clinical setting. Researchers found an average of 46% of trainees and 31% of attending surgeons thought mobile computing was likely to improve patient interactions between December 2011 and August 2014. During the same time period, however, researchers also noted 87% of trainees and 58% of attending surgeons believed mobile computing allowed them to be better physicians. – by Casey Tingle
Disclosures: Andrawis reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.