The Use of WhatsApp Smartphone Messaging Improves Communication Efficiency within an Orthopaedic Surgery Team
The Use of WhatsApp Smartphone Messaging Improves Communication Efficiency within an Orthopaedic Surgery Team
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DOI：
10.7759/cureus.1040
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发表时间：
2017-02-01
影响因子：
1.2
通讯作者：
McCarthy, Thomas
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Ellanti, Prasad;Moriarty, Andrew;McCarthy, Thomas
导言：有效和及时的沟通对于任何外科专科的运作都是重要的。智能手机的使用在医生中很普遍。众多智能手机应用程序为快速、经济高效的通信提供了潜力。WhatsApp是一款免费、易于使用、能够发送文本和多媒体消息的常用应用程序。我们报告了WhatsApp在我们单位六个月的使用情况。材料和方法：分析了骨科团队非顾问成员在六个月期间的WhatsApp通信。手机和WhatsApp应用程序都有密码保护，患者的详细信息也是匿名的。结果：在6个月的时间里，共发送了5492条信息，属于1,916个不同通信事件的一部分。大多数信息，5090条，都与病人护理有关。总共发送了195条彩信，其中包括X光照片和伤口的图像。在使用医院电话时，平均每次通讯时间为5.78分钟，而使用医院传呼机系统的平均时间为7.45分钟。在研究期间，使用WhatsApp消息系统可能节省了7664分钟。所有参与者都认为WhatsApp易于使用，并发现它比传统的寻呼机系统更有效。结论：与传统的寻呼机系统相比，WhatsApp的使用简单、廉价、可靠，有助于提高手术团队内部的沟通效率。
Introduction: Effective and timely communication is important for any surgical specialty to function. The use of smartphones is prevalent amongst doctors. Numerous smartphone applications offer the potential for fast and cost-effective communication. WhatsApp is a commonly used application that is free, easy to use, and capable of text and multimedia messaging. We report on the use of WhatsApp over a six month period in our unit.Materials and Methods: WhatsApp communication between non-consultant members of an orthopaedic team over a six-month period was analysed. Both the phones and the WhatsApp application were password-protected, and patient details were anonymised. A series of 20 communications using the hospital pager system and the telephone system were also analysed.Results: A total of 5,492 messages were sent during the six-month period and were part of 1,916 separate communication events. The vast majority of messages, 5,090, were related to patient care. A total of 195 multimedia messages were sent and these included images of radiographs and wounds. When using the hospital telephones, the length of time spent on a communication averaged 5.78 minutes and using the hospital pager system averaged 7.45 minutes. Using the WhatsApp messaging system has potentially saved up to 7,664 minutes over the study period. All participants found WhatsApp easy to use and found it to be more efficient than the traditional pager systemConclusion: Compared to the traditional pager systems, the use of WhatsApp is easy, inexpensive, and reliable and can help improve the efficiency of communication within a surgical team.