Patient-Centered Tablets: Applications for Inpatient Admissions

Tablet Computers for Hospitalized Adults: a Novel Approach to Increasing Patient Engagement With Their Electronic Personal Health Records

RESEARCH QUESTION:

Are hospitalized patients able to use a tablet computer (iPad) to take brief surveys, access their patient portal (MyChart), and watch informational videos about their condition?

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Mobile Health
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Limited bedside training on patient portal use.; Other: Extensive bedside training for accessing patient portal

Detailed Description

STUDY DESIGN:

Small pilot study evaluating pre/post impressions of information technology and the feasibility of using a tablet computer for education purposes and to complete a daily survey about preparations for discharge and post-acute care.

The study has two distinct parts. Patients will have the option to participate in either one or both parts.

PART 1: Using iPads to learn about health conditions We will enroll and randomize patients to intervention or control groups. Allocation to be intervention or control group will be determined using a computer-based random number generator. All patients will be orientated to using an iPad, asked to take a pre-use survey, will have a MyChart account set up and view EMMI modules. Intervention group patients will receive specific detailed education about how to access, navigate and use MyChart using tablets (iPads) . Control group patients will not receive this specific education about how to access, navigate and use MyChart using tablets (iPads). Both intervention and control group patients will be asked to complete a post-use survey. We will access MyChart data repositories to determine if patients continue to access their patient portal for up to 30 days after the completion of this part of the study.

PART 2: Using iPads to prepare for discharge We will enrol all eligible patients (regardless of intervention or control group status in Part 1) to complete a daily Readiness for Discharge Survey (RDS). This standardized validated survey will determine a range of discharge and post-acute issues and will be fed back to the patient's health care team. Patient demographic and clinical information will be abstracted from their medical record to determine if there are any specific issues related to specific groups of patients. Initially the RDS will be completed on a paper survey but will be eventually be administered via an iPad.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 98
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • San Francisco, California, United States, 94143
      • University of California San Francisco Medical Center (Moffitt-Long Hospital)

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Adult patients admitted to any service at UCSF Medical Center

Exclusion Criteria:

Patients not speaking English. Patients unable to give consent. Patients unable to safely use a tablet computer for any reason. Patients being discharged on day of approach. Patient cognitively impaired and unable to give consent. Patient in ICU. Patient in some form of droplet isolation.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Control; Control patients receive iPad tablets during their hospital stay with only LIMITED bedside training from a research assistant on how to access and effectively use their patient portal.	Other: Limited bedside training on patient portal use.; EXTENSIVE bedside training from a research assistant on how to access and effectively use their patient portal.
Experimental: Intervention; Intervention patient receive iPad tablets during their hospital stay with EXTENSIVE bedside training from a research assistant on how to access and effectively use their patient portal.	Other: Extensive bedside training for accessing patient portal; EXTENSIVE bedside training from a research assistant on how to access and effectively use their patient portal.; Other Names: Apple iPad tablets; Epic MyChart patient portal

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient Portal Usage	Effects of iPad intervention to improve patient access to their patient portal will be assessed during hospitalization and for 30 days after discharge.	During and after hospitalization (up to 30 days)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of California, San Francisco
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ryan Greysen, MD, University of California, San Francisco

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Greysen SR, Magan Mendoza Y, Rosenthal J, Jacolbia R, Rajkomar A, Lee H, Auerbach A. Using Tablet Computers to Increase Patient Engagement With Electronic Personal Health Records: Protocol For a Prospective, Randomized Interventional Study. JMIR Res Protoc. 2016 Sep 6;5(3):e176. doi: 10.2196/resprot.4672.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: November 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 1, 2014
• Study Completion (Actual): February 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 3, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 7, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): April 10, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 6, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 5, 2020
• Last Verified: February 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Mobile Health; Patient Engagement; Personal Health Records; Patient Portals; Tablet Computers
• Other Study ID Numbers: 12-09854