Can the Documented Patient Briefing Be Carried Out with an iPad App?

Abstract

To evaluate the feasibility of an iPad-based documented patient briefing for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) examinations. A standard briefing sheet and questionnaire for a MRI scan was converted from paper form into an iPad application. Twenty patients, who had been referred for an MRI scan, were briefed about the examination in paper form as well as via the iPad application before performing the MRI scan. Time each patient needed for the briefing and the number of questions that came up were documented. Patients' acceptance of the electronic briefing was assessed using a questionnaire. The mean processing time was 2.36 min (range 0.58 to 09.35 min., standard deviation ±2.05 min) for the paper-based briefing and 4.15 min (range 1.56 to 13.48 min, SD±2.36 min) for the app-based briefing. Concerning technical aspects, patients asked two questions during the app-based briefing; no questions arose during the paper-based briefing. Six patients preferred electronic briefing and four patients, the paperbased form. No patient preferred the electronic form with additional multimedial information. Eight participants did not mind which briefing version was used; two participants did not express their preference at all. Our experiences showed that electronic briefing using an iPad is feasible and has the potential to become a user-friendly alternative to the conventional paper-based approach. Owing to the broad range of the results, a follow-up study will seek to determine the influencing factors on processing time and other potential questions.

Evaluating Tablet Computers as a Survey Tool in Rural Communities

“…In one study, participants who were surveyed following Magnetic Resonance Imagining procedures reported no difference in preference for the 2 survey formats. 20 In a second study, college students and medical professionals provided responses more quickly and more accurately when using a tablet computer and rated tablet computers as more usable than paper-and-pencil. 21 These studies, although informative, are limited by low sample sizes (10-20 participants) and by their focus on educated participants who likely were familiar with tablet computers.…”

“…A handful of studies have compared responses collected via a tablet computer versus paper‐and‐pencil. In one study, participants who were surveyed following Magnetic Resonance Imagining procedures reported no difference in preference for the 2 survey formats . In a second study, college students and medical professionals provided responses more quickly and more accurately when using a tablet computer and rated tablet computers as more usable than paper‐and‐pencil .…”

iPad-Based Patient Briefing for Radiological Examinations—a Clinical Trial

“…For the clinical trial, a custom-made iPad application ('app') was used as described before [11]: The source document for the app is our standard MRI briefing sheet, which was designed up by our institute and is employed as a paper printout. The content of the paper briefing was transferred one-to-one to the digital briefing version and converted into an application for the iPad, so that there was no difference in the informational content in both briefing modalities.…”

“…for collection of patient data using the iPad prior to radiological examinations. Therefore, a TC-based patient briefing had been introduced recently and proved a feasible method of electronic data capture which might allow instant analysis and post processing of patient data [11]. With the introduction of this novel way of patient briefing, the question arose as to whether or not this could be an alternative to the paper-based version of patient briefing before radiological examinations and how a larger collective of patients would deal with this way of information transfer.…”

Practicability of Hygienic Wrapping of Touchscreen Operated Mobile Devices in a Clinical Setting

“…Many studies show various applications of tablet computers in a clinical setting, such as carrying out the documented patient briefing with an iPad app [14], supporting doctors during patient consultations [15] or during hospital wards [16].…”