Perceived usability of a store and forward telehealth platform for diagnosis and management of oral mucosal lesions: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

EstomatoNet was created in the south of Brazil to provides specialist support over a webbased platform to primary care dentists for diagnosis of oral lesions. To evaluate the usability of EstomatoNet and to identify user perceptions regarding their expectations and difficulties with the system; and to compare the perceptions of regular users of the service to those of first-time users. Sixteen dentists were selected for the study: 8 were frequent users of EstomatoNet and 8 were residents who had never used the Platform. To assess usability, participants were required to request telediagnosis support for a fictional case provided by the research team. During the process of uploading the information and sending the request, users were asked to "think out loud," expressing their perceptions. The session was observed by an examiner with remote access to the user's screen (via Skype). After the simulation, users completed the System Usability Scale (SyUS), a validated tool with scores ranging from 0 to 100. The mean SyUS score assigned by frequent users was 84.7±6.6, vs. 82.2±9.3 for residents (satisfactory usability: score above 68). The difference between the groups was not statistically significant (Student t test, P = .55). The residents group took longer (347.1±101.1s) to complete the task than frequent users (252.8±80.3s); however, the difference between the groups was not statistically significant (Student t test, P = .06). In their subjective evaluation, users suggested the inclusion of a field to add further information on outcomes and resolution of the case and changes in the position of the "Send" button to improve workflow. The present results indicate satisfactory usability of EstomatoNet. The Platform seems to meet the needs of users regardless of how experienced they are; nevertheless, a few minor changes in some steps would improve the tool.

Development and assessment of the usability of a web-based referral to treatment tool for persons with substance use disorders

“…Lastly, given that expert clinicians have identified administrative and clinical characteristics that influence referral accessibility and appropriateness (e.g., intake processes, patient engagement, integration of services) [10], information on these characteristics could be included in future iterations of the RTT. Similar to this study, other literature supports the use of Think-Aloud-Tests and the SUS to enhance the usability of software applications [24,25], although asking participants to think aloud while completing a task may negatively affect task performance [26].…”

A Prospective Comparative Analysis Regarding the Assessment of Oral Mucosal Disease Using a Validated Questionnaire to Improve the Teaching of Dental Students

“…Furthermore, the use of a questionnaire may also ease interprofessional communication in online formats, for example, as in COVID-19 pandemic times. Furthermore, telemedicine applications could also benefit from such an approach [ 26 , 27 ].…”

Tele-dentistry, its trends, scope, and future framework in oral medicine; a scoping review during January 1999 to December 2021

“…The review of selected studies has revealed several limitations that researchers can consider in their future research. The small sample size was suggested by numerous studies [3,8,15,25,40,61,62,65,73], Diagnostic error is also another limitation raised by studies, the reasons for which can be choosing histopathology as the standard gold [24], as well as the lack of oral examination due to the selection of new people [39]. One way to deal with this issue is to use tele-dentistry for patients` follow-up who have been examined on a face-to-face visit [39].…”