Use of a Smartphone App to Support Pre- and Post-Surgical Preparedness and to Improve Clinical Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Shoulder Arthroscopy

Disparities in surgical outcomes between marginalized and non-marginalized populations are well documented and are driven in part by systemic factors such as provider bias, limited health literacy, and inadequate patient support. These factors contribute to poor adherence to pre- and post-operative instructions, which in turn is associated with worse clinical outcomes, higher rates of day-of-surgery delay or cancellation, and increased healthcare costs, disproportionately affecting underserved patients. Patients with fewer resources often face additional difficulty navigating complex perioperative instructions without adequate guidance or support.

A smartphone application has been developed to improve patient adherence to complex medical instructions, with a particular focus on perioperative care. The application digitizes patient education materials that are otherwise delivered on paper, converting instructions into discrete, trackable tasks that patients acknowledge as completed. The application is linked, on a read-only basis, to the patient's electronic health record (EHR) to retrieve procedure type, procedure date, treating physician, and current medications, allowing instructions to be lightly personalized without requiring manual data entry by clinical staff. With the exception of medication information, the content delivered through the application is the same as that currently provided on paper. Prior non-research deployments of the application have suggested it may improve adherence and reduce administrative and clinical staff burden, though this has not been formally evaluated in a controlled study.

This is a proof-of-concept, randomized clinical trial designed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of smartphone-based patient education compared to standard paper-based patient education in adults undergoing planned shoulder arthroscopy.

The primary objective is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of implementing the smartphone application in this clinical population, evaluated through study-tracked implementation metrics (e.g., enrollment, retention, app engagement) and participant self-report.

Secondary objectives are to: (1) evaluate whether the application, by delivering EHR-linked, updated patient instructions, improves patient adherence to pre- and post-operative instructions, assessed via application usage data and self-report; (2) evaluate whether the application improves patient experience and health outcomes, assessed via self-reported satisfaction and patient-reported outcome measures; and (3) evaluate whether the application reduces burden on nursing and office staff, assessed through post-study staff interviews.

Approximately 100 adults scheduled for planned shoulder arthroscopy will be recruited. Potentially eligible patients will be identified from the clinic schedule by the research team and contacted by email in advance of the scheduled clinic visit to describe the study and provide research team contact information for those interested in learning more. At the scheduled visit, the treating surgeon will confirm surgical candidacy as a clinical decision, separate from the decision of whether the patient wishes to participate in the research study. For patients expressing interest, the research team will describe the study in detail, answer questions, and the treating surgeon will obtain informed consent.

Enrolled participants will be randomized to one of two arms: (1) standard paper-based patient instructions, reflecting current clinical practice, or (2) the same instructional content delivered through a smartphone application. Participants randomized to the application arm will be provided a link to install the application on the participant's personal smartphone (Apple or Android operating system) and will register within the application to enable linkage to EHR, with assistance from a research coordinator as needed. These participants will be instructed to log into the application daily to review pre- and post-operative instructions and confirm completion of individual tasks (for example, pre-operative antiseptic showers, medication holds, fasting instructions, daily medications, and post-operative wound care), with prioritization given to actions associated with risk of day-of-surgery delay or cancellation and post-operative complications. The application will also collect patient-reported outcome measures, which will be shared with the treatment team through a separate portal. Participants will be instructed to contact the treating surgeon's office for clinical questions and the research team for study-related questions throughout study participation.