The Utilization of Physician Cell Phone Numbers by Patients in an Orthopaedic Surgery Practice

Abstract

Introduction Orthopaedic surgeons choose to manage communication with their patients outside of official visits and interactions in a variety of ways, with some choosing to provide their personal cell phone number in order to provide patients with direct accessibility. The objective of this prospective study is to explore to what extent patients utilize the cell phone numbers of orthopaedic surgeons in the immediate period after it is provided to them. Methods Seven fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeons from five different subspecialties in a single private, multi-site group each provided his/her personal cell phone number to 30 consecutive patients. The surgeon's phone number was written down on a business card, and the surgeons themselves provided the card to the patient. Phone calls and voice mail messages received in the 30 days following the patient receiving the phone number were recorded, and the reasons for these calls were categorized as being "appropriate" (e.g. acute postoperative issues, unclear instructions) or "inappropriate" (e.g. administrative issues, medication refills, advanced imaging-related inquires). Results Two-hundred seven patients with an average age of 51.5 years were provided cell phone numbers. During the 30 days following administration of cell phone numbers to each patient, 21 patients (10.1%) made calls to their surgeons, for an average of 0.15 calls per patient. Six patients (2.9%) called their surgeons more than once. Seventeen calls (54.8%) were deemed appropriate, while 14 calls (45.2%) were inappropriate. Logistic regression analysis did not reveal patient age, sex, type of visit, or surgeon subspecialty to be independently associated with calling. Conclusion Our study has demonstrated a low rate of patient utilization of surgeon cell phone number when provided to them. If surgeons choose to provide their cell phone number to patients, we recommend specifying appropriate reasons to call in order to maximize the effectiveness of this communication method.

Impact of Giving Patients Your Personal Phone Number in Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery

“…This low incidence of PPN utilization is consistent with data previously published in the literature. Rogero et al 1 conducted a similar study of orthopedic surgery patients and found that 10.1% of patients who received their provider’s personal phone number called their surgeon in a 30-day timeframe, with 45.2% of calls considered inappropriate (vs 18.2% in our study). Survey results published by Chin et al 2 found that 85% of respondents (201 completed surveys) who had not received their provider’s personal phone number would consider using it to contact their surgeon if it was provided.…”

“…The risks associated with this practice would be further reduced with the accurate identification of patients likely to abuse a provider's PPN. 1,4 This study found that only 10% of participants suspected to abuse their provider's PPN were accurately identified. In addition, 10 out of 266 participants randomized to receive their provider's PPN were suspected to abuse it, representing a small rate of 3.8%.…”

“…The definition of an inappropriate phone call is somewhat subjective and may vary between providers, which was the case in our study. 1,3,4,6 Accordingly, the percentage of patients with inappropriate phone calls or texts might differ, but we would expect it to remain low. 4…”

“…Some medical providers distribute their personal cell phone number (PPN) to their patients as a means of direct, immediate, and personal communication. [1][2][3] This may also be done with the aim of increasing patient satisfaction. 4,5 Other providers, however, out of concerns for various potential problems associated with this, are opposed to sharing their PPN.…”