Lack of mHealth Technologies Disrupts Workflows for Hospitalists
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User-centered mHealth technology and applications could help reduce burden and increase the efficiency of workflows for hospitalists, according to a study published in JMIR Human Factors.
Hospitalists are physicians who work in hospitals and provide general medical care to patients during their stay. EHR systems play a big role in hospitalists’ workflows by aiding in documentation, information retrieval, and order creation, but their lack of mobility can lead to redundancy and inefficiencies for hospitalists.
“Healthcare systems across the country have invested heavily in health information technology [HIT], but when it comes to the mobile technology provided to hospitalists, HIT hasn’t incorporated many user-centered designs,” April Savoy, PhD, a researcher from the Regenstrief Institute and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and a corresponding author of the study, said in a press release.
“Cell phones work well for ordering a ride from a car service or posting social media because their apps are designed for the consumers these companies wish to reach. But we found a lack of user-focused mobile technology apps designed to decrease difficulty and increase efficiency of hospitalists’ workflows and improve patient care.”
To understand what kinds of mobile technologies would best help hospitalists in their everyday tasks, Savoy and other researchers interviewed 12 physicians from an urban teaching hospital in Indiana operated by the VA.