The Reliability of Remote Patient-Reported Outcome Measures via Mobile Apps to Replace Outpatient Visits After Rotator Cuff Repair Surgery: Repetitive Test-Retest Comparison Study for 1-Year Follow-up

Abstract

Background With the development of health care–related mobile apps, attempts have been made to implement remote patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). In order for remote PROMs to be widely used by mobile apps, the results should not be different depending on the location; that is, remote PROM results performed in locations other than hospitals should be able to obtain reliable results equivalent to those performed in hospitals, and this is very important. However, to our knowledge, there are no studies that have assessed the reliability of PROMs using mobile apps according to the location by comparing the results performed remotely from the hospital and performed at the outpatient visits. Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability of remote PROMs using mobile apps compared to PROMs performed during outpatient follow-up visits after arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Methods A total of 174 patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair completed questionnaires 2 days before visiting the clinic for the 1-, 2-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups (test A). The patients completed the questionnaires at the clinic (test B) using the same mobile app and device for the 1-, 2-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups. Test-retest comparisons were performed to analyze the differences and reliability of the PROMs according to the period. Results Comparisons of tests A and B showed statistically significant differences at 1, 2, and 3 months (all Ps<.05 except for the ASES function scale at 3-months) but not 6 or 12 months after surgery (all Ps>.05). The intraclass correlation values between the two groups were relatively low at the 1-, 2-, and 3-month follow-ups but were within the reliable range at 6 and 12 months after surgery. The rate of completion of tests A and B using the mobile app was significantly lower in the group older than 70 years than in the other groups for all postoperative periods (P<.001). Conclusions PROMs using mobile apps with different locations differed soon after surgery but were reliably similar after 6 months. The remote PROMs using mobile apps could be used reliably for the patient more than 6 months after surgery. However, it is to be expected that the use of mobile app–based questionnaires is not as useful in the group older than 70 years as in other age groups.

Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of electronic collection of patient-reported measures in routine care of older adults: Protocol for a qualitative evidence synthesis

“…Patient-reported measures collected electronically may be completed in various environments including hospital, home or work environments, using devices such as desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones (Malhotra et al, 2016). The questionnaires may also be administered through mobile-or web-based applications (Hong et al, 2021;Meirte et al, 2020). The benefits of electronic collection of patient-reported measures include providing an end-to-end solution and process for information reporting by patients, integration to patient records, and improved accessibility and improved utilisation by healthcare professionals and health services for care improvements (Chang et al, 2019;De Rosis et al, 2020;Hernar et al, 2019;Meirte et al, 2020).…”

Can a mobile app technology reduce emergency department visits and readmissions after lung resection? A prospective cohort study

“…Some investigators have focused on the feasibility of use of a postdischarge mobile health app; however, to date, such an intervention has not yet been systematically evaluated in thoracic surgery. [29][30][31][32] We therefore developed, in collaboration with SeamlessMD, a postdischarge mobile app specific to thor acic surgery to be used by patients and families at home to provide support through the initial postdischarge phase. We hypothesized that the use of the app, as an adjunct to our preexisting ICC program, would result in lower readmis sion rates and fewer ED visits compared to the ICC program alone by facilitating timely and effective feedback between patients and the medical team so that problems can be identified earlier, thereby preventing post discharge complications.…”