A smartphone-enabled communication system to improve hospital communication: usage and perceptions of medical trainees and nurses on general internal medicine wards.

Background: There is increasing interest in the use of information and communication technologies to improve how clinicians communicate in hospital settings.

Methods: We implemented a communication system with support for physician handover and secure messaging on 2 general internal medicine wards. We measured usage and surveyed physicians and nurses on perceptions of the system's effects on communication.