Practicing evidence based medicine at the bedside: a randomized controlled pilot study in undergraduate medical students assessing the practicality of tablets, smartphones, and computers in clinical life

• Published in: BMC medical informatics and decision making 2014-12, Vol.14 (1), p.113-113, Article 113
• Main Authors: Friederichs, Hendrik, Marschall, Bernhard, Weissenstein, Anne
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithms; Cell Phone - standards; Cell Phone - statistics & numerical data; Computers - classification; Computers - standards; Computers - statistics & numerical data; Computers, Handheld - standards; Computers, Handheld - statistics & numerical data; Devices; Education, Medical, Undergraduate - methods; Evidence-Based Medicine - methods; Evidence-Based Medicine - standards; Evidence-Based Medicine - statistics & numerical data; Female; Habits; Humans; Information Seeking Behavior; Internet; Internet access; Male; Medical; Mobile Applications - statistics & numerical data; Patients; Physicians; Pilot Projects; Pilots; Point-of-Care Systems - standards; Point-of-Care Systems - statistics & numerical data; Questionnaires; Searching; Self evaluation; Smart phones; Smartphones; Students; Students, Medical; Tablet computers; Technology application; Variance analysis; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1472-6947; 1472-6947
• DOI: 10.1186/s12911-014-0113-7

Practicing evidence-based medicine is an important aspect of providing good medical care. Accessing external information through literature searches on computer-based systems can effectively achieve integration in clinical care. We conducted a pilot study using smartphones, tablets, and stationary computers as search devices at the bedside. The objective was to determine possible differences between the various devices and assess students' internet use habits. In a randomized controlled pilot study, 120 students were divided in three groups. One control group solved clinical problems on a computer and two intervention groups used mobile devices at the bedside. In a questionnaire, students were asked to report their internet use habits as well as their satisfaction with their respective search tool using a 5-point Likert scale. Of 120 surveys, 94 (78.3%) complete data sets were analyzed. The mobility of the tablet (3.90) and the smartphone (4.39) was seen as a significant advantage over the computer (2.38, p