Telemedicine inside the Pocket: The Impact of Smartphones on Daily Patients’ Evaluations

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the perception of doctors, residents, and medical students of smartphone use on daily medical practice. Materials and methods:Cross-sectional study with data collected online by questionnaire on Google Docs ® , with closed multiple-choice questions regarding smartphones use in medical practice and its impact on decision-making and patients' privacy.Results: There were 118 questionnaires, mostly from students (61%), followed by medical residents (31%) and medical preceptors (8%). All preceptors confirmed eventual use of smartphones on clinical cases discussions, 77.8% of whom use it in less than half of the time. Among the residents, 94.6% use theirs smartphones, 77% of them in more than half of the time. On the contrary, 12.5% of the students do not use this kind of resource, and among those that do use it, 50% do so more than half of the time. All preceptors, 94.6% residents and 80.6% of the students believe its use does not expose the patients' privacy.Conclusion: Preceptors and residents use smartphones more often than medical students. Most agree its use helps on daily decision-making and does not jeopardize the patients' privacy.