Testing Consultation Recordings in a Clinical Setting With the SecondEars Smartphone App: Mixed Methods Implementation Study.

BACKGROUND: Health care systems are increasingly looking to mobile device technologies (mobile health) to improve patient experience and health outcomes. SecondEars is a smartphone app designed to allow patients to audio-record medical consultations to improve recall, understanding, and health care self-management. Novel health interventions such as SecondEars often fail to be implemented post pilot-testing owing to inadequate user experience (UX) assessment, a key component of a comprehensive implementation strategy. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to pilot the SecondEars app within an active clinical setting to identify factors necessary for optimal implementation. Objectives were to (1) investigate patient UX and acceptability, utility, and satisfaction with the SecondEars app, and (2) understand health professional perspectives on issues, solutions, and strategies for effective implementation of SecondEars. METHODS: A mixed methods implementation study was employed. Patients were invited to test the app to record consultations with participating oncology health professionals. Follow-up interviews were conducted with all participating patients (or carers) and health professionals, regarding uptake and extent of app use. Responses to the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) were also collected. Interviews were analyzed using interpretive descriptive methodology; all quantitative data were analyzed descriptively. RESULTS: A total of 24 patients used SecondEars to record consultations with 10 multidisciplinary health professionals. In all, 22 of these patients used SecondEars to listen to all or part of the recording, either alone or with family. All 100% of patient participants reported in the MARS that they would use SecondEars again and recommend it to others. A total of 3 themes were identified from the patient interviews relating to the UX of SecondEars: empowerment, facilitating support in cancer care, and usability. Further, 5 themes were identified from the health professional interviews relating to implementation of SecondEars: changing hospital culture, mitigating medico-legal concerns, improving patient care, communication, and practical implementation solutions. CONCLUSIONS: Data collected during pilot testing regarding recording use, UX, and health professional and patient perspectives will be important for designing an effective implementation strategy for SecondEars. Those testing the app found it useful and felt that it could facilitate the benefits of consultation recordings, along with providing patient empowerment and support. Potential issues regarding implementation were discussed, and solutions were generated. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12618000730202; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=373915&isClinicalTrial=False.

Co-Design of a Consultation Audio-Recording Mobile App for People With Cancer: The SecondEars App.

BACKGROUND: Many patients choose to audio-record their medical consultations so that they can relisten to them at home and share them with family. Consultation audio-recordings can improve patients' recall and understanding of medical information and increase their involvement in decision making. A hospital-endorsed consultation audio-recording mobile app would provide patients with the permission and means to audio-record their consultations. The Theory of Planned Behavior provides a framework for understanding how patients can be encouraged to appropriately audio-record consultations. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to use a co-design process to develop a consultation audio-recording mobile app called SecondEars. METHODS: App development began with stakeholder engagement, followed by a series of 6 co-design workshops and then user acceptance testing. Stakeholder engagement included advice from legal, information technology (IT), clinical and allied health leads; digital strategy; and medical records. he co-design workshops were attended by: patient consumers, members of the research team, IT staff, the app designers, clinicians, and staff from medical records. During workshops 1 to 4, the purpose and scope of the app were refined, possible pitfalls were addressed, and design features were discussed. The app designers then incorporated the results from these workshops to produce a wireframe mock-up of the proposed SecondEars app, which was presented for feedback at workshops 5 and 6. RESULTS: The stakeholders identified 6 requirements for the app, including that it be patient driven, secure, clear in terms of legal responsibilities, linked to the patient's medical record, and that it should require minimal upfront and ongoing resources. These requirements informed the scope of the co-design workshops. The workshops were attended by between 4 and 13 people. The workshop attendees developed a list of required features and suggestions for user interface design. The app developers used these requirements and recommendations to develop a prototype of the SecondEars app in iOS, which was then refined through user acceptance testing. CONCLUSIONS: The SecondEars app allows patients to have control and autonomy over audio-recording and sharing their consultations while maintaining privacy and safety for medical information and legal protection for clinicians. The app has been designed to have low upkeep and minimal impact on clinical processes. The SecondEars prototype is currently being tested with patients in a clinical setting.