Healthcare Technology Featured Article

June 27, 2012

Please Do Use Your Cell Phone: Some Doctors' Offices


Last time you were in the doctor’s office, how many people were on their smartphones? About half, I bet.

What were they doing? Sixty-one percent e-mail; 49 percent texting; and 47 percent using the Internet, most likely, according to a Blue Chip Patient Recruitment (BCPR) mHealth study.

So why would doctors care? The survey found that here’s an excellent opportunity to engage patients with clinical information, and possibly, engaging them in trials. “As patients' comfort levels with computing functions grow, so will the opportunities to deliver clinical trial messaging,” a company statement explained.

The survey’s purpose was to identify opportunities for the use of mHealth technology in clinical trial recruitment.

"mHealth is in its early adoption phase, but there are some exciting opportunities that clinical trial sponsors can leverage now," said Neil Weisman, executive vice president and general manager at BCPR. "Our findings show that 92 percent of site coordinators are eager for tools to help them do their jobs more efficiently and are open to receiving mobile devices from trial sponsors, so there is great opportunity to engage with trial participants early."

The survey also found that more than 75 percent of surveyed patients prefer to use their smartphones and tablets for phone, text, and e-mail, compared to less than 50 percent who use their phones for getting access to the Internet or apps.

"By identifying new opportunities for engagement with clinical trial participants, we can develop innovative ways to use mobile technology when developing our patient recruitment programs," said Stanton Kawer, chairman and CEO at Blue Chip Marketing Worldwide, BCPR’s parent company. "Although less than 30 percent of patients are using their mobile devices for healthcare purposes, there is a core group of early mHealth adopters who are much more active in using mobile for healthcare.”

“By focusing on this group, we are able to identify trends that will help us engage larger patient pools as more patients start to use their mobile devices for healthcare management," Kawer said.

Fortunately, the survey found that among the most active mobile users surveyed, 67 percent would be willing to receive clinical trial information via email, while 44 percent sought information via internet search engines.

Especially significant, the study found that the waiting room “is an ideal opportunity to engage patients with clinical trial messaging.” Physicians can up their chances of getting patients to participate by providing waiting room Wi-Fi access that includes information about clinical trials, according to the source.

Ironically, many doctors’ offices have prominent signs posted on doors and walls proclaiming, “No Cell Phone Use.” It’s usually for a good reason, because cell phone signals can sometimes interfere with medical equipment. But I suspect it’s because they find it just as annoying as the rest of us do, having to listen to someone recount her date with a loser, or a businessman (a lawyer, yet!) discuss a client, both of which I have overheard at various times.

Clearly, mobile phones are good things – for doctors and the rest of us. I’m not so sure they should be encouraging us to use them in their offices, but maybe telling people about or signing them up for vital clinical trials should be an exception.




Edited by Braden Becker
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