Healthc Inform Res.  2011 Jun;17(2):131-138. 10.4258/hir.2011.17.2.131.

The Uses of the Smartphone for Doctors: An Empirical Study from Samsung Medical Center

• Choi JS
• Yi B
• Park JH
• Choi K
• Jung J
• Park SW
• Rhee PL

• KMID: 1447790
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4258/hir.2011.17.2.131

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
In healthcare, mobile computing made possible by smartphones is becoming an important tool among healthcare professionals. However, currently there is very little research into the effectiveness of such applications of technology. This study aims to present a framework for a smartphone application to give doctors mobile access to patient information, then review the consequences of its use and discuss its future direction.
METHODS
Since 2003 when Samsung Medical Center introduced its first mobile application, a need to develop a new application targeting the latest smartphone technology was identified. To that end, an application named Dr. SMART S was officially launched on December 22nd, 2010.
RESULTS
We analyzed the usage data of the application for a month until April 25th, 2011. On average, 170 doctors (13% of the entire body of doctors) logged on 2.4 times per day and that number keeps growing. The number was uniformly distributed across all working hours, with exceptions of heavy accesses around 6-8 AM and 4-6 PM when doctors do their regular rounds to see the patients. The most commonly accessed content was inpatient information, this constituted 78.6% of all accesses, within this 50% was to accesses lab results.
CONCLUSIONS
Looking at the usage data, we can see the use of Dr. SMART S by doctors is growing in sync with the popularity of smartphones. Since u-Health seem an inevitable future trend, a more rigorous study needs to be conducted on how such mobile applications as Dr. SMART S affect the quality of care and patient safety to derive directions for further improvements.

Keyword

Handheld Computers; Medical Informatics Applications; Hospital Information System

MeSH Terms

Computers, Handheld
Delivery of Health Care
Hospital Information Systems
Humans
Inpatients
Medical Informatics Applications
Patient Safety
Pyridines
Thiazoles
Pyridines
Thiazoles

Figure

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  Figure 1 Strategy of information technology.

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  Figure 2 History of mobile application on smartphones. MITs: mobile intelligent terminals, OS: operating system, App.: application, mSMIS: mobile Samsung Medical Information System.

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  Figure 3 Framework of Dr. SMART S.

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  Figure 4 Algorithm and content structure. MAC: media access control.

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  Figure 5 Examples of contents. (A) login, (B) main menu of Dr.SMART S, (C) inpatient list, (D) vital signs of patient, (E) order & progress, (F) lab examination, (G) consultation notes, and (H) calling consulter.

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  Figure 6 The trend of access since service opening.

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  Figure 7 The access pattern of daily access.

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