This paper is in the following e-collection/theme issue:

TTRN CPH 2022: "Digital Health beyond COVID-19: Lessons Learned" (37)

Published on in Vol 8, No 1 (2022): Jan-Dec

Preprints (earlier versions) of this paper are available at https://preprints.jmir.org/preprint/41310, first published .
Digital Communication Between Patients and Health Care Professionals Across Disciplines and Sectors After Hospital Discharge: Facilitators, Barriers, and Effects

Digital Communication Between Patients and Health Care Professionals Across Disciplines and Sectors After Hospital Discharge: Facilitators, Barriers, and Effects

Digital Communication Between Patients and Health Care Professionals Across Disciplines and Sectors After Hospital Discharge: Facilitators, Barriers, and Effects

Authors of this article:

Lili Worre Høpfner Jensen1, 2 Author Orcid Image ;   Birthe Dinesen2 Author Orcid Image ;   Søren Kold1 Author Orcid Image ;   Ole Rahbek1 Author Orcid Image
Article Authors Cited by Tweetations Metrics

    Abstract

    1Interdisciplinary Orthopaedics, Orthopaedic Surgery Department, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark

    2Laboratory for Welfare Technology - Digital Health & Rehabilitation, Department of Health, Science & Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Corresponding Author:

    Lili Worre Høpfner Jensen, BSc, MSc

    Interdisciplinary Orthopaedics

    Orthopaedic Surgery Department

    Aalborg University Hospital

    Hobrovej 18-22

    Aalborg, 9000

    Denmark

    Phone: 45 60229406

    Email: lili.jensen@rn.dk


    Background: Over the past decade, hospital admissions for patients undergoing orthopedic surgery have been shortened, and the time for informing and educating patients prior to discharge has been compromised. The transition of care from hospital to home poses a substantial risk of adverse events. Patients have difficulty remembering information and struggle to assess the severity of symptoms after discharge, leading to unplanned telephone contacts and clinic visits. These inquiries are frequent and pose a substantial burden on the health care system and patients. The COVID-19 pandemic showed an emerging need to implement new communication technologies. Asynchronous digital communication (DC) may provide easy access to health care and seamless communication across sectors.

    Objective: This study aimed to investigate how DC can facilitate easy communication between patients and health care professionals (HCPs) across sectors and the effects of DC on patient-initiated telephone contacts after discharge.

    Methods: The overall theoretical approach was inspired by Continuity of Care and the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Substudy I was a scoping review on DC between patients and HCPs after hospital discharge. Substudy II explored DC in an orthopedic surgery setting and through a triangulation of qualitative data collection techniques. Substudy III investigated the effect of DC on patient-initiated telephone contacts after discharge.

    Results: Preliminary findings from substudy I show that DC is increasingly used to support patient-provider communication after discharge. In substudy II, preliminary findings show that DC is feasible in a real-life setting, providing patients with easy access to HCPs, who accept and adapt DC to existing cross-sectoral workflows. However, barriers exist related to the technological integration between systems and individuals’ hesitation to use DC. In substudy III, DC is to be tested in a randomized controlled trial.

    Conclusions: This study generates new knowledge of asynchronous DC that may guide future implementations across the health care system.

    iproc 2022;8(1):e41310

    doi:10.2196/41310

    Keywords

    text messaging; communication; postoperative care; continuity of patient care 

    Conflicts of Interest

    None declared.

    Edited by T Leung; This is a non–peer-reviewed article. submitted 21.07.22; accepted 19.08.22; published 22.08.22

    Copyright

    ©Lili Worre Høpfner Jensen, Birthe Dinesen, Søren Kold, Ole Rahbek. Originally published in Iproceedings (https://www.iproc.org), 22.08.2022.

    This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in Iproceedings, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://www.iproc.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.