Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Mar 24, 2023
Date Accepted: Sep 25, 2023
Improving Medical Photography in a Level 1 Trauma Center by Implementing a Specialized Smartphone-based App in Comparison to Usage of Digital Cameras: Prospective Panel Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Medical photography is an integral part of patient care, playing an important role in wound management, in particular, but also in planning surgical therapy or patient and medical education. Smartphones are increasingly used and due to medicolegal reasons, usability, and efficiency, in particular, it may be superior to digital cameras.
Objective:
Aim of this panel study was to assess if implementation of a specialized smartphone app for medical photography would lead to an increase usage and efficiency of it.
Methods:
With the help of weekly questionnaires, this single center panel study compared the use of digital cameras and smartphones with a specialized app for medical photography. The study took place at a level 1 trauma center from June to November 2020.
Results:
65 questionnaires were assessed for digital camera use and 68 for smartphone use. Usage increased significantly by 5.4±1.9 times/week (95% CI [1.7;9.2]; P=.005) when the smartphone was used. The time it took to upload pictures to the PACS was significantly shorter for the app (1.8±1.2min) than for the camera (14.9±24.0h) (P<.001).
Conclusions:
Specialized smartphone apps offer a secure, fast, and easy way to acquire medical photos and could possibly improve patient education and care in terms of wound management, in particular, while also offering medicolegal and economic benefits.
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.