Is smartphone a necessity or luxury among orthopedic specialty?

Objective: To assess the utilisation pattern of smart phones by residents and consultants with respect to their clinical work and academics.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was carried out in orthopaedic departments of various hospitals in Karachi in July 2014. Orthopaedic residents and consultants were asked to fill a questionnaire containing various questions, including utilisation of their smart phones for professional applications, books, internet and emails; and sharing of clinical data.

Results: A total of 98residents and consultants were approached and 83(84.7%) of them filled up the questionnaire. Of them, 70(84.3%) owned a smart phone and represented the study sample. Of them, 60(85.7%) were using applications on their mobile phone; and 27(38.6%) were using them for sharing clinical data with colleagues. The use of smart phone applications was more among residents than consultants (p=0.010) and the same applied to data sharing (p=0.028). AO Surgery reference was the most utilised application in 43(61.4%). Besides, 46(65.7%) respondents were using smart phones to read text books; 60(85.7%) were using internet on their smart phones for browsing web pages and to check emails; and 62(88.6%) wanted to have more applications available related to orthopaedic practice. Only 1(1.4%) respondent was willing to pay for these applications.

Conclusions: Majority of orthopaedic caregivers owned a smart phone, but their clinical use was limited which may be enhanced to improve patient care.