Oct 30 2012
By Sarah Guy, medwireNews Reporter
An overwhelming majority of pediatric hospitalists use a smartphone and text messaging, while approximately half either send or receive work-related text messages while they are on duty, show survey findings.
Roughly half also report that they receive work-related messages even when they are not scheduled to be on call, most commonly from other pediatric hospitalists, fellows, or resident physicians, say the study authors.
"We are using text messaging more and more to communicate with other physicians, residents, and even to transfer a patient to a different unit," said study co-author Stephanie Kuhlmann (The University of Kansas, Wichita, USA) in a statement to the press.
Kuhlmann and co-investigators surveyed 106 pediatric hospitalists to gauge the use of text messaging and cellular phone use in the hospital setting.
In all, a respective 90% and 96% of responders said they used a smartphone and text messaging, with 57% reporting sending or receiving work-related messages while working ‑ 12% doing so more than 10 times per shift ‑ and 49% reporting that they received text messages from colleagues even when off duty.
"It's not easy to leave your cellphone when you're not at work. People can still contact you," said Kuhlmann.
While verbal communication was reported to be the most frequent method, at 92%, hospitalists' preferences were almost equally divided among verbal face-to-face (21%), cellular phone text messaging (27%), and traditional paper communication (23%).
The survey results revealed a fear among 41% of respondents that rules covered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act could be violated by sending or receiving text messages that relate to patient information, indeed 27% said they had received such information in the past.
Just 10% of respondents reported that their institution offered encryption software that would protect the contents of sensitive text messages.
"We've had such a rapid increase in cellphone use, and I'm not sure that hospitals have caught up by putting in place related processes and protocols," commented Kuhlmann, who presented the study at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Licensed from medwireNews with permission from Springer Healthcare Ltd. ©Springer Healthcare Ltd. All rights reserved. Neither of these parties endorse or recommend any commercial products, services, or equipment.