Using computerised interactive response technology to assess electrocardiographers and for aggregating diagnoses.
The 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is a crucial diagnostic tool. However, the ideal method to assess competency in ECG interpretation remains unclear. We sought to evaluate whether keypad response technology provides a rapid, interactive way to assess ECG knowledge. 75 participants were enrolled [32 (43%) Primary Care Physicians, 24 (32%) Hospital Medical Staff and 19 (25%) Nurse Practitioners]. Nineteen ECGs with 4 possible answers were interpreted. Out of 1425 possible decisions 1054 (73.9%) responses were made. Only 570/1425 (40%) of the responses were correct. Diagnostic accuracy varied (0% to 78%, mean 42%±21%) across the entire cohort. Participation was high, (median 83%, IQR 50%-100%). Hospital Medical Staff had significantly higher diagnostic accuracy than nurse practitioners (50±20% vs. 38±19%, p=0.04) and Primary Care Physicians (50±20% vs. 40±21%, p=0.07) although not significant. Interactive voting systems can be rapidly and successfully used to assess ECG interpretation. Further education is necessary to improve diagnostic accuracy.
Department of Cardiology, Altnagelvin Hospital, Western Health and Social Care Trust; Northern Ireland Centre for Stratified Medicine, CITRIC, University of Ulster. Electronic address: apeace@rcsi.ie.
Aaron
A
Peace
Department of Cardiology, Altnagelvin Hospital, Western Health and Social Care Trust.
Adesh
A
Ramsewak
Computer Science Research Institute, University of Ulster, Belfast.
Andrew
A
Cairns
School of Engineering, University of Ulster, Belfast.
Dewar
D
Finlay
School of Engineering, University of Ulster, Belfast.
Daniel
D
Guldenring
School of Medicine, Emory University, US.
Gari
G
Clifford
Computer Science Research Institute, University of Ulster, Belfast.
Raymond
R
Bond
D000465:Algorithms; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D000066477:Work Performance / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
Diagnostic accuracy; ECG; Interactive response technology