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Cited by 80Electronic Health Records SystemsMobile Health and mHealth ApplicationsMobile Learning in Education

Medical Students and Personal Smartphones in the Clinical Environment: The Impact on Confidentiality of Personal Health Information and Professionalism

Open access
Tran, Kim, Morra, Dante, Lo, Vivian, Quan, Sherman D, Abrams, Howard, Wu, Robert C·2014·Journal of Medical Internet Research
DOI 10.2196/jmir.3138PMC PMC4051746
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Smartphones are becoming ubiquitous in health care settings. The increased adoption of mobile technology such as smartphones may be attributed to their use as a point-of-care information source and to perceived improvements in clinical communication and efficiency. However, little is known about medical students' use of personal smartphones for clinical work. OBJECTIVE: The intent of the study was to examine final-year medical students' experience with and attitudes toward using personal mobile technology in the clinical environment, with respect to the perceived impact on patient confidentiality and provider professionalism. METHODS: Cross-sectional surveys were completed by final-year medical students at the University of Toronto. Respondents were asked about the type of personal mobile phone they use, security features on their personal phone, experiences using their personal phone during clinical rotations, and attitudes about using their personal phone for clinical work purposes. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 45.4% (99/218). Smartphone ownership was prevalent (98%, 97/99) with the majority (86%, 85/99) of participants using their personal phones for patient-related communication during clinical rotations. A total of 26% (26/99) of participants reported not having any type of security feature on their personal phone, 94% (90/96) of participants agreed that using their personal phone for clinical work makes them more efficient, and 86% (82/95) agreed that their personal phone allows them to provide better patient care. Although 68% (65/95) of participants believe that the use of personal phones for patient-related communication with colleagues poses a risk to the privacy and confidentiality of patient health information, 22% (21/96) of participants still use their personal phone to text or email identifiable patient data to colleagues. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the use of personal smartphones for clinical work by medical students is prevalent. There is a need to more fully address the threat to patient confidentiality posed by the use of unsecured communication devices such as smartphones.

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  • Various concerns about potential professionalism implications exist, particularly related to breaches of patient confidentiality, professional boundaries, and depiction of unprofessional behaviors.

    “Various concerns about potential professionalism implications [151-153] exist, particularly related to breaches of patient confidentiality, professional boundaries, and depiction of unprofessional behaviors.”

    From Dangers and Benefits of Social Media on E-Professionalism of Health Care Professionals: Scoping Review (2021) · cites this paper as [152]

    The Introduction and Discussion > Principal Results describe risks to patient confidentiality and concerns that smartphone use during patient encounters may be perceived as unprofessional or rude. The paper does not address breaches of professional boundaries, so it does not support that specific concern. (LLM, conf=0.83)

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [23]Wu RC Tzanetos K Morra D Quan S Lo V Wong BM Educational impact of using smartphones for clinical communication on general medicine: more global, less local J Hosp Med 2013 7 8 7 365 72 10.1002/jhm.2037 23713054 23713054 · DOI

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Authors
Tran, K., Morra, D., Lo, V., Quan, S. D., Abrams, H., & Wu, R. C.
Affiliations
  • University Health Network (CA)
  • Trillium Health Centre (CA)
Corresponding author
Tran, Kim
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Medical Internet Research
Publisher
JMIR Publications Inc.
Published
2014-05-22
Volume
16
Issue
5
Pages
e132
ISSN
1438-8871 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.2196/jmir.3138
PMC
PMC4051746
OpenAlex
W2165119358
Cited by
80
References
21
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 3
FWCI
18.28
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Journal of Medical Internet Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Health Information Management › Electronic Health Records Systems
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Mobile Learning in Education
Keywords
smartphones, medical students, patient confidentiality, health information privacy, professionalism, mobile phone security, clinical communication
MeSH terms
Communication, Confidentiality, Cross-Sectional Studies, Efficiency, Female, Patient Care, Humans, Internship and Residency, Male, Medical Staff, Hospital, Patient Care Team, Students, Medical, Cell Phone

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