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Author: Brian S McGowan, PhD

MANUSCRIPT: Smartphone and medical related App use among medical students and junior doctors in the United Kingdom (UK): a regional survey

BACKGROUND:
Smartphone usage has spread to many settings including that of healthcare with numerous potential and realised benefits. The ability to download custom-built software applications (apps) has created a new wealth of clinical resources available to healthcare staff, providing evidence-based decisional tools to reduce medical errors.Previous literature has examined how smartphones can be utilised by both medical student and doctor populations, to enhance educational and workplace activities, with the potential to improve overall patient care. However, this literature has not examined smartphone acceptance and patterns of medical app usage within the student and junior doctor populations.
METHODS:
An online survey of medical student and foundation level junior doctor cohorts was undertaken within one United Kingdom healthcare region. Participants were asked whether they owned a Smartphone and if they used apps on their Smartphones to support their education and practice activities. Frequency of use and type of app used was also investigated. Open response questions explored participants’ views on apps that were desired or recommended and the characteristics of apps that were useful.
RESULTS:
257 medical students and 131 junior doctors responded, equating to a response rate of 15.0% and 21.8% respectively. 79.0% (n=203/257) of medical students and 74.8% (n=98/131) of junior doctors owned a smartphone, with 56.6% (n=115/203) of students and 68.4% (n=67/98) of doctors owning an iPhone.The majority of students and doctors owned 1-5 medical related applications, with very few owning more than 10, and iPhone owners significantly more likely to own apps (Chi sq, p<0.001). Both populations showed similar trends of app usage of several times a day. Over 24 hours apps were used for between 1-30 minutes for students and 1-20 minutes for doctors, students used disease diagnosis/management and drug reference apps, with doctors favouring clinical score/calculator apps.
CONCLUSIONS:
This study found a high level of smartphone ownership and usage among medical students and junior doctors. Both groups endorse the development of more apps to support their education and clinical practice.

via Smartphone and medical related App … [BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2012] – PubMed – NCBI.

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MANUSCRIPT: A systematic review of healthcare applications for smartphones.

BACKGROUND:Advanced mobile communications and portable computation are now combined in handheld devices called “smartphones”, which are also capable of running third-party software. The number of smartphone users is growing rapidly, including among healthcare professionals. The purpose of this study was to classify smartphone-based healthcare technologies as discussed in academic literature according to their functionalities, and summarize articles in each category.METHODS:In April 2011, MEDLINE was searched to identify articles that discussed the design, development, evaluation, or use of smartphone-based software for healthcare professionals, medical or nursing students, or patients. A total of 55 articles discussing 83 applications were selected for this study from 2,894 articles initially obtained from the MEDLINE searches.RESULTS:A total of 83 applications were documented: 57 applications for healthcare professionals focusing on disease diagnosis 21, drug reference 6, medical calculators 8, literature search 6, clinical communication 3, Hospital Information System HIS client applications 4, medical training 2 and general healthcare applications 7; 11 applications for medical or nursing students focusing on medical education; and 15 applications for patients focusing on disease management with chronic illness 6, ENT-related 4, fall-related 3, and two other conditions 2. The disease diagnosis, drug reference, and medical calculator applications were reported as most useful by healthcare professionals and medical or nursing students.

CONCLUSIONS:
Many medical applications for smartphones have been developed and widely used by health professionals and patients. The use of smartphones is getting more attention in healthcare day by day. Medical applications make smartphones useful tools in the practice of evidence-based medicine at the point of care, in addition to their use in mobile clinical communication. Also, smartphones can play a very important role in patient education, disease self-management, and remote monitoring of patients.

via A systematic review of healthcare a… [BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2012] – PubMed – NCBI.

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ABSTRACT: Strategies to overcome clinical, regulatory, and financial challenges in the implementation of personalized medicine.

This article highlights major developments over the last decade in personalized medicine in cancer. Emerging data from clinical studies demonstrate that the use of targeted agents in patients with targetable molecular aberrations improves clinical outcomes. Despite a surge of studies, however, significant gaps in knowledge remain, especially in identifying driver molecular aberrations in patients with multiple aberrations, understanding molecular networks that control carcinogenesis and metastasis, and most importantly, discovering effective targeted agents. Implementation of personalized medicine requires continued scientific and technological breakthroughs; standardization of tumor tissue acquisition and molecular testing; changes in oncology practice and regulatory standards for drug and device access and approval; modification of reimbursement policies by health care payers; and innovative ways to collect and analyze electronic patient information that are linked to prospective clinical registries and rapid learning systems. Informatics systems that integrate clinical, laboratory, radiologic, molecular, and economic data will improve clinical care and will provide infrastructure to enable clinical research. The initiative of the EurocanPlatform aims to overcome the challenges of implementing personalized medicine in Europe by sharing patients, biologic materials, and technological resources across borders. The EurocanPlatform establishes a complete translational cancer research program covering the drug development process and strengthening collaborations among academic centers, pharmaceutical companies, regulatory authorities, health technology assessment organizations, and health care systems. The CancerLinQ rapid learning system being developed by ASCO has the potential to revolutionize how all stakeholders in the cancer community assemble and use information obtained from patients treated in real-world settings to guide clinical practice, regulatory decisions, and health care payment policy.

via Strategies to overcome clinical,… [Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book. 2013] – PubMed – NCBI.

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ABSTRACT: Cutting-edge technology for public health workforce training in comparative effectiveness research

A critical mass of public health practitioners with expertise in analytic techniques and best practices in comparative effectiveness research is needed to fuel informed decisions and improve the quality of health care. The purpose of this case study is to describe the development and formative evaluation of a technology-enhanced comparative effectiveness research learning curriculum and to assess its potential utility to improve core comparative effectiveness research competencies among the public health workforce. Selected public health experts formed a multidisciplinary research collaborative and participated in the development and evaluation of a blended 15-week comprehensive e-comparative effectiveness research training program, which incorporated an array of health informatics technologies. Results indicate that research-based organizations can use a systematic, flexible, and rapid means of instructing their workforce using technology-enhanced authoring tools, learning management systems, survey research software, online communities of practice, and mobile communication for effective and creative comparative effectiveness research training of the public health workforce.

via Cutting-edge technology for public heal… [Health Informatics J. 2013] – PubMed – NCBI.

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ABSTRACT: The ethics of health information technology in oncology: emerging issues from both local and global perspectives.

Health information technology (HIT) is ever-increasing in complexity and has incrementally become a fundamental part of our everyday clinical lives. As HIT becomes more complex and commonplace, so do the questions it raises about stewardship and usage of data, along with the ethics of these applications. With the development of rapid-learning systems, such as ASCO’s CancerLinQ, careful thought about the ethics and applications of these technologies is necessary. This article uses the principles-based framework of modern bioethics to examine evolving ethical issues that arise in the context of HIT and also discusses HIT’s application in reducing cancer care disparities in the developing world. We recognize that this topic is quite broad, so here we provide an overview of the issues, rather than any definitive conclusions about a particular “correct path.” Our hope is to stimulate discussion about this important topic, which will increasingly need to be addressed in the oncology community.

via The ethics of health information… [Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book. 2013] – PubMed – NCBI.

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ABSTRACT: Social media and the empowering of opponents of medical technologies: the case of anti-vaccinationism

Social media has contributed positively to the interaction between proponents of medical products and technologies and the public by permitting more direct interaction between these two groups. However, it has also provided opponents of these products a new mechanism to organize opposition. Using the example of anti-vaccinationism, we provide recommendations for how proponents of medical products and technologies should address this new challenge

via Social media and the empowering of oppone… [J Med Internet Res. 2013] – PubMed – NCBI.

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RESOURCE: Review #meded Apps with @Happtique, @aamctoday

The Association of American Medical Colleges has partnered with Happtique to serve as the content review partner for the Happtique Health App Certification Program HACP.  As part of this partnership, the AAMC is seeking content experts to review medical education apps that have been submitted for certification.

Content reviewer positions are open to trained physicians in all medical specialties and disciplines; those with technology, informatics, and app development or deployment experience are strongly encouraged to apply.

via Review #meded Apps with @Happtique, @aamctoday | Wing Of Zock.

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RESOURCE: Continuing Education Technology Trends – Trade and Professional Association Market — Tagoras

The 121-page report is based upon a survey of 375 trade and professional associations as well as on extensive interviews with more than 30 associations and vendors. In addition to providing essential data and analysis, the report’s authors, Jeff Cobb and Celisa Steele offer valuable predictions as well as a range of questions to help organizations with setting strategy. For additional information on the report’s contents, we encourage you to download the table of contents and introduction.

In anticipation of releasing a new version of this report later in 2013, we are now making the current version available for free to anyone who subscribes to the Tagoras Leading Learning monthly e-newsletter (also free). …

via Continuing Education Technology Trends – Trade and Professional Association Market — Tagoras.

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ABSTRACT: A systematic review of the literature on the evaluation of handoff tools: implications for research and practice — Abraham et al. — Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association

Objective Given the complexities of the healthcare environment, efforts to develop standardized handoff practices have led to widely varying manifestations of handoff tools. A systematic review of the literature on handoff evaluation studies was performed to investigate the nature, methodological, and theoretical foundations underlying the evaluation of handoff tools and their adequacy and appropriateness in achieving standardization goals.

Method We searched multiple databases for articles evaluating handoff tools published between 1 February 1983 and 15 June 2012. The selected articles were categorized along the following dimensions: handoff tool characteristics, standardization initiatives, methodological framework, and theoretical perspectives underlying the evaluation.

Results Thirty-six articles met our inclusion criteria. Handoff evaluations were conducted primarily on electronic tools (64%), with a more recent focus on electronic medical record-integrated tools (36% since 2008). Most evaluations centered on intra-departmental tools (95%). Evaluation studies were quasi-experimental (42%) or observational (50%), with a major focus on handoff-related outcome measures (94%) using predominantly survey-based tools (70%) with user satisfaction metrics (53%). Most of the studies (81%) based their evaluation on aspects of standardization that included continuity of care and patient safety.

Conclusions The nature, methodological, and theoretical foundations of handoff tool evaluations varied significantly in terms of their quality and rigor, thereby limiting their ability to inform strategic standardization initiatives. Future research should utilize rigorous, multi-method qualitative and quantitative approaches that capture the contextual nuances of handoffs, and evaluate their effect on patient-related outcomes.

via A systematic review of the literature on the evaluation of handoff tools: implications for research and practice — Abraham et al. — Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.

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ABSTRACT: Aggregate health data in the United States: Steps toward a public good

The rise of electronic medical records promotes the collection and aggregation of medical data. These data have tremendous potential utility for health policy and public health; yet there are gaps in the scholarly literature. No articles in the medical or legal literature have mapped the “information flows” from patient to database, and commentary has focused more on privacy than on data’s social value and incentives for production. Utilizing short case studies of data flows, I show that ample data exist, much of them are available online through government websites or hospital trade associations. However, available information comes from billing records rather than medical records. Turning to legal and policy recommendations for better provision, I note that weak intellectual property law has ironically led to stronger control over health data through private contracts and technological barriers, as these methods of protection lack any exceptions for noncommercial use. I conclude with a series of policy proposals to make data more available.

via Aggregate health data in the United States: Steps toward a public good.

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