title: Emergency medicine and internal medicine trainees' smartphone use in clinical settings in the United States.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Smartphone technology offers a multitude of applications (apps) that provide a wide range of functions for healthcare professionals. Medical trainees are early adopters of this technology, but how they use smartphones in clinical care remains unclear. Our objective was to further characterize smartphone use by medical trainees at two United States academic institutions, as well as their prior training in the clinical use of smartphones.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 2014, we surveyed 347 internal medicine and emergency medicine resident physicians at the University of Utah and Brigham and Women's Hospital about their smartphone use and prior training experiences. Scores (0%-100%) were calculated to assess the frequency of their use of general features (email, text) and patient-specific apps, and the results were compared according to resident level and program using the Mann-Whitney U-test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 184 residents responded (response rate, 53.0%). The average score for using general features, 14.4/20 (72.2%) was significantly higher than the average score for using patient-specific features and apps, 14.1/44 (33.0%, P<0.001). The average scores for the use of general features, were significantly higher for year 3-4 residents, 15.0/20 (75.1%) than year 1-2 residents, 14.1/20 (70.5%, P=0.035), and for internal medicine residents, 14.9/20 (74.6%) in comparison to emergency medicine residents, 12.9/20 (64.3%, P= 0.001). The average score reflecting the use of patient-specific apps was significantly higher for year 3-4 residents, 16.1/44 (36.5%) than for year 1-2 residents, 13.7/44 (31.1%; P=0.044). Only 21.7% of respondents had received prior training in clinical smartphone use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Residents used smartphones for general features more frequently than for patient-specific features, but patient-specific use increased with training. Few residents have received prior training in the clinical use of smartphones.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine & George E. Whalen VA Hospital, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Sonja E
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8032-0853
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Raaum
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4669-3469
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arbelaez
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia.
authors.forename: Carlos Eduardo
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5677-8557
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Vallejo
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Andres M
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4599-4016
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Patino
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine Administration, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Jorie M
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7419-7588
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Colbert-Getz
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine & George E. Whalen VA Hospital, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Caroline K
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4782-1901
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Milne
keywords: Cell phones; Emergency medicine; Internal medicine; Physicians; United States