Attitudes and beliefs among anesthesia provides regarding smartphone use for intraoperative anesthetic management

Background: Smartphone technology has evolved at the same accelerated pace as healthcare technological innovation. The literature shows that healthcare providers already utilize Smartphone technology to bridge gaps in knowledge and provide quality care to patients. Critics of these advancements are leery about Smartphone use in the operating room (OR) because it may be a source of distraction for anesthesia providers; however, supporters argue that their use is also recognized as a potential aid in learning. Objectives: This study was conducted to assess workplace attitudes and beliefs regarding the use of Smartphones in the operating room in order to establish policies that promote patient safety in conjunction with accessibility to valuable technology. Method: An investigator-developed questionnaire on Smartphone uses in the OR was sent to the anesthesiology staff of a large, academic medical center in Illinois. The study enrolled 28 participants who are anesthesiologist physicians, CRNAs and SRNAs. Results: The findings revealed that over 95% of study participants believe that Smartphones in the OR are very useful for accessing medical information during anesthesia care. The majority of participants (92.9%) indicated that they never use Smartphones during critical times of anesthesia and 57.1% of participants do not believe that Smartphone use should be restricted in the OR. Fisher exact tests revealed that there was no statistically significant association between the participants’ beliefs and attitudes on intraoperative Smartphone use and the participants’ sociodemographic variables such as age (40 years and younger versus 41 years and older), years of experience (1 to 10 years versus 11 years and greater), or provider type (physician anesthesiologist versus nurse anesthetist). A large discrepancy was noted between the Employee Handbook policy on Smartphone use and the beliefs, attitudes, and actions of anesthesia providers. Conclusion: There is a need for a policy review on Smartphone use in the OR in order to correct inconsistencies, remove obsolete rules, update outdated policies, and build consensus on ways in which anesthesia providers may use Smartphones effectively and safely in the OR. Keywords: Smartphones, Anesthesia, Medical Apps, Patient Safety, Hospital Policy