Smartphone usage patterns by Canadian neurosurgery residents - A national cross-sectional survey.

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Smartphone usage patterns by Canadian neurosurgery residents - A national cross-sectional survey.

World Neurosurg. 2017 Dec 22;:

Authors: Kameda-Smith MM, Iorio-Morin C, Winkler-Schwartz A, Uzair AS, Bergeron D, Bigder M, Dakson A, Elliott CA, Guha D, Lavergne P, Makarenko S, Taccone MS, Tso M, Wang B, Fortin D, Canadian Neurosurgery Research Collaborative (CNRC)

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Smartphones and their apps are used ubiquitously in medical practice. However in some cases their use can be at odds with current patient data safety regulations such as Canada's Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) 2004. In order to assess current practices and inform mobile application development, we sought to better understand mobile device usage patterns amongst Canadian neurosurgery residents.
METHODS: Through the Canadian Neurosurgery Research Collaborative (CNRC), an online survey characterizing smartphone ownership and usage patterns was developed and sent to all Canadian neurosurgery resident in April of 2016. Questionnaires were collected and completed surveys analyzed.
RESULTS: 76 of 146 eligible residents returned completed surveys (52% response rate). 99% of respondents owned a smartphone with 79% running Apple's iOS. Four general mobile uses were identified: 1) communication between members of the medical team, 2) decision support, 3) medical reference and 4) documentation through medical photography. Communication and photography were areas where the most obvious breaches in PHIPA were noted, with 89% of respondents taking pictures of patients' radiological studies and 75% exchanging them with SMS. Hospital policies had no impact on user behaviours.
CONCLUSION: Smartphones are used daily by the vast majority of neurosurgery residents. Identified usage patterns are associated with both perceived gains in efficacy and challenges in privacy and data reliability. We believe creating and improving workflows that address these usage patterns has a greater potential to improve privacy than changing policies and enforcing regulations.

PMID: 29277596 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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