PDA Research Tool in the Emergency Department

MobileDataforce is working on many mobile healthcare related projects these days. One of our customers forwarded the following article to me yesterday. It shows objective data on the value and benefit of using handheld mobile devices for data collection.

Prospective, randomized evaluation of a personal digital assistant-based research tool in the emergency department

BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making 2008, 8:3doi:10.1186/1472-6947-8-3

Published:
18 January 2008
Abstract (provisional)

Background
Personal digital assistants (PDA) offer putative advantages over paper for collecting research data. However, there are no data prospectively comparing PDA and paper in the emergency department. The aim of this study was to prospectively compare the performance of PDA and paper enrollment instruments with respect to time required and errors generated.
Methods

We randomized consecutive patients enrolled in an ongoing prospective study to having their data recorded either on a PDA or a paper data collection instrument. For each method, we recorded the total time required for enrollment, and the time required for manual transcription (paper) onto a computer database. We compared data error rates by examining missing data, nonsensical data, and errors made during the transcription of paper forms. Statistical comparisons were performed by Kruskal-Wallis and Poisson regression analyses for time and errors, respectively.

Results
We enrolled 68 patients (37 PDA, 31 paper). Two of 31 paper forms were not available for analysis. Total data gathering times, inclusive of transcription, were significantly less for PDA (6:13 min per patient) compared to paper (9:12 min per patient; p<0.001). There were a total of 0.9 missing and nonsense errors per paper form compared to 0.2 errors per PDA form (p<0.001). An additional 0.7 errors per paper form were generated during transcription. In total, there were 1.6 errors per paper form and 0.2 errors per PDA form (p<0.001).

Conclusions
Using a PDA-based data collection instrument for clinical research reduces the time required for data gathering and significantly improves data integrity.

Marcel P.J.M. Dijkers Ph.D. FACRM
Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine
Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Clinical Research Projects and Mobile Handheld Solutions

Company Overview:
Craig Hospital is a non-profit spinal cord and brain trauma rehabilitation and research hospital. Based in Denver Colorado, Craig Hospital has been treating brain and spinal cord trauma patients since 1956 and has treated over 25,500 patients.

Research Challenge:
Craig Hospital recently received a government grant to perform research on 8 different forms of rehabilitation in order to understand what techniques are most effective for each of the 8 disciplines. Craig Hospital teamed up with 5 other research hospitals (Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Shepherd Center, Mount Sinai, Carolinas Rehabilitation, and the National Rehabilitation Hospital) in order to make the findings representative of spinal cord injury rehabilitation practices nationwide. The data needed to be collected and sent to a main database at an outside location to be analyzed. ISIS/ICOR (International Severity Information Services/Institute for Clinical Outcomes Research) was the organization selected to perform the data analysis and to maintain the database to which all collected information was to be sent. The problem was that the hospitals and patients were all in different geographic locations, and the patient care happened in a mobile working environment which made the collection and secure synchronization of the research data to a central database a challenge.

MobileDataforce Solution:
MobileDataforce created a mobile handheld application for each of the 8 different types of rehabilitation. Each healthcare provider was issued a handheld HP iPAQ HX 2190 PDA running Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system and asked to record rehabilitation progress with each of their patients in the study. There were approximately 250 mobile devices across the 6 hospitals.

By using a mobile software application rather than using paper forms Craig Hospital was able to:

• Save data entry time
• Save the costs of shipping and storing paper forms
• Ensure data accuracy through the use of data validation features
• Pre-load patients’ names and information onto the mobile device to save time and ensure accuracy
• Speed up research and analysis by downloading data directly from the handheld devices to the central research database

By selecting MobileDataforce’s PointSync Mobility Platform and professional services, Craig Hospital obtained a complete enterprise mobility platform and an experienced mobile software development team. MobileDataforce developed 8 mobile clinical research software applications that allowed for the 6 hospitals to capture information quickly, in real time, from all across the United States and synchronized it into one central research database. This allowed for research and analysis to be conducted on the data in near-real time.

MobileDataforce implemented software security features to ensure patient privacy and compliance to industry rules. MobileDataforce also helped Craig Hospital select the appropriate mobile handheld devices for their data collection requirements.

Conclusion:
Craig hospital was able to collect research data on 8 different rehabilitation disciplines from 6 different hospitals across the country and synchronize the data into one centralized database using the PointSync Mobility Platform from MobileDataforce, http://www.mobiledataforce.com/. Craig Hospital saved time and ensured data accuracy by designing a custom mobile application for clinical research with the help of MobileDataforce. MobileDataforce assists organizations around the world mobilize business and field data collection processes. For additional information please visit our website at: http://www.mobiledataforce.com/.

You can find more information on these studies here.