Abstract
Introduction
Communication is key to any successful relationship with the patient-physician partnership being no different. Recent advances in technology have provided us with an array of new communication tools such as the mobile phone, computer, internet, and email. This new technology has revolutionized communications; however, limitations to their widespread use include access, literacy, and willingness for both the physician and patient to change.
Methods
To gather international data, questionnaires were completed by patients attending vascular surgery outpatient clinics in hospitals in Ireland and Canada.
Results
Five hundred ninety-seven patients participated in the study. Of the participants, 83.2% were over 50 years old. The mean age was 63.1 years, with a range of 18–95 years. Overall, home phone call was the most preferred method of communication with 41.0% of patients selecting this option. Of the patients, 82.4% had a mobile phone but just 48.5% use text message. In those over the age of 70, 72.1% use a mobile phone and just 25.3% use text message. Of the participants, 64.1% had access to a computer, and 67.2% had access to the internet with a decline in the usage of both with increasing age.
Discussion
Within this patient population, the use of technologies decreases with increasing age of the patients. This demonstrates a large population of service users who are contented with conventional methods of communication. Change within healthcare ICT is inevitable, and therefore, these patients need to be guided and educated to allow a smooth transition from the old to the new.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Car J, Sheikh A et al (2004) Email consultations in healthcare: 1- scope and effectiveness. BMJ 329:435–438
CSO (2017) Information society statistics - households. Retrieved from Central Statistics Office: http://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/isshh/informationsocietystatistics-households2016/
Atherton H, Huckvale C, Car J (2010) Communicating health promotion and disease prevention information to patients via email: a review. J Telemed Telecare 16:172–175
Flanigan DP (1989) Computerization of academic vascular surgery. Surgery 106(5):911–919
CSO (2017) Population and labour force projections. Retrieved from Central Statistics Office: http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/population/2013/poplabfor2016_2046.pdf
Health IU (2017) Projected demographic effect on health service costs in 2015. Retrieved from Department of Health: http://health.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Projected-Demographic-Effect-on-Health-Service-Costs-2015.pdf
Solutions G (2015) Case study: St. Vincent's Healthcare Group. Retrieved from eHealth Ireland: http://www.ehealthireland.ie/Library/Document-Library/Case-Studies/St-Vincent-s-Hospital-Advanced-Messaging-Solution.pdf
Ball MJ, Lillis J (2001) IE-health: transforming the physician:patient relationship. Int J Med Inform 61:1–10
Leong SL, Gingrich D, Lewis PR, Mauger DT, George JH (2005) Enhancing doctor-patient communication using email: a pilot study. J Am Board Fam Pract 18:180–188
Kim HS (2007) A randomized contolled trial of a nurse short-message service by cellular phone for people with diabetes. Int J Nurs Stud 44:687–692
Lorig K, Ritter PL, Laurent DD, Plant K, Green M, Jernigan VBB, Case S (2010) Online diabetes self-management program. Diabetes Care 33:1275–1281
Ye JK, Rust G, Fry-Johnson Y, Strothers H (2010) Email in patient-provider communication: a systematic review. Patient Educ Couns 80:266–273
Acknowledgment
We would like to thank the patients who agreed to participate in this study.
Funding
The Midwest Education Liaison Group who awarded the lead author (AK) with a financial bursary to assist in carrying out this research while a final year medical student.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interests
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic Supplementary Material
ESM 1
(PDF 247 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kelly, A., Belchos, J., Wheatcroft, M. et al. An international experience of electronic communication and implementation of eHealth solutions in a vascular surgery clinic. Ir J Med Sci 190, 291–296 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-020-02311-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-020-02311-6