Prospective pilot study of a tablet computer in an Emergency Department.
BACKGROUND
The recent availability of low-cost tablet computers can facilitate bedside information retrieval by clinicians.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effect of physician tablet use in the Emergency Department.


METHODS
Prospective cohort study comparing physician workstation usage with and without a tablet.


METHODS
55,000 visits/year Level 1 Emergency Department at a tertiary academic teaching hospital.


METHODS
13 emergency physicians (7 Attendings, 4 EM3s, and 2 EM1s) worked a total of 168 scheduled shifts (130 without and 38 with tablets) during the study period.


METHODS
Physician use of a tablet computer while delivering direct patient care in the Emergency Department.


METHODS
The primary outcome measure was the time spent using the Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) at a computer workstation per shift. The secondary outcome measure was the number of EDIS logins at a computer workstation per shift.


RESULTS
Clinician use of a tablet was associated with a 38min (17-59) decrease in time spent per shift using the EDIS at a computer workstation (p<0.001) after adjusting for clinical role, location, and shift length. The number of logins was also associated with a 5-login (2.2-7.9) decrease per shift (p<0.001) after adjusting for other covariates.


CONCLUSIONS
Clinical use of a tablet computer was associated with a reduction in the number of times physicians logged into a computer workstation and a reduction in the amount of time they spent there using the EDIS. The presumed benefit is that decreasing time at a computer workstation increases physician availability at the bedside. However, this association will require further investigation.
Department of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston,MA 02215, USA. shorng@bidmc.harvard.edu
Steven
S
Horng
Foster R
FR
Goss
Richard S
RS
Chen
Larry A
LA
Nathanson
D000328:Adult; D057286:Electronic Health Records; D004635:Emergency Medicine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008838:Microcomputers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013996:Time and Motion Studies; D057188:Workflow