Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.
Int J Med Inform. 2019 Jun;126:114-117. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2019.03.020. Epub 2019 Apr 1.
The landscape of mobile devices is changing and their present use by patients for healthcare purposes is unknown. An understanding of current attitudes and usage may help increase patient engagement through mobile applications. This study sought to determine characteristics of mobile device ownership among Emergency Department patients, patients' feelings regarding their use in healthcare, and desired functionality in mobile applications.
A cross-sectional survey was undertaken at a single urban tertiary care academic center. A convenience sample of adult English-speaking patients in the Emergency Department were surveyed from June 21 st, 2017 to December 30th, 2017. A secondary analysis of the data was performed based on demographic and socioeconomic factors.
260 patients were approached for participation, 11 patients declined, and one patient was excluded. The 248 participants had a median age of 49 (interquartile range 28-62) and 54% were female. 91% of those surveyed own smartphones, 58% owned tablets, and 77% of these patients were comfortable using mobile devices. Those without mobile devices were older (p < 0.001) and held less commercial insurance (p = 0.01). A majority of patients were interested in using applications to enter information, track their visit, view results, and communicate with providers during their visit. Following care, there is interest in viewing information about their visit and receiving reminders for appointments and medications. Patients are also interested in using applications for learning about medical conditions and managing medications. Though there are mixed feelings regarding the protection of privacy by apps, they are felt to be safe, effective, useful, and not difficult to use.
Ownership of smartphones is high across the Emergency Department population and patients are enthusiastic about using mobile devices as part of their care. Further study can elucidate opportunities to further integrate mobile device applications into patient care.
移动设备的格局正在发生变化，目前患者在医疗保健方面使用移动设备的情况尚不清楚。了解当前的态度和使用情况可能有助于通过移动应用程序增加患者的参与度。本研究旨在确定急诊科患者拥有移动设备的特征、患者对其在医疗保健中的使用感受，以及对移动应用程序的期望功能。
在一家城市三级学术医疗中心进行了横断面调查。2017 年 6 月 21 日至 2017 年 12 月 30 日，对急诊科的成年英语患者进行了便利抽样调查。根据人口统计学和社会经济学因素对数据进行了二次分析。
共 260 名患者接受了参与调查的邀请，11 名患者拒绝，1 名患者被排除。248 名参与者的中位年龄为 49 岁（四分位距 28-62 岁），54%为女性。接受调查的患者中有 91%拥有智能手机，58%拥有平板电脑，其中 77%的患者使用移动设备感到舒适。没有移动设备的患者年龄较大（p<0.001），且商业保险比例较低（p=0.01）。大多数患者有兴趣使用应用程序输入信息、跟踪就诊、查看结果并在就诊期间与医生沟通。就诊后，他们有兴趣查看就诊信息、接收预约和药物提醒。患者也有兴趣使用应用程序了解医疗状况和管理药物。尽管对应用程序保护隐私存在一些矛盾的看法，但他们认为应用程序安全、有效、有用，且使用起来并不困难。
在急诊科患者人群中，智能手机的拥有率很高，患者热衷于将移动设备用作其医疗护理的一部分。进一步的研究可以阐明将移动设备应用程序进一步整合到患者护理中的机会。
