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BackgroundHealth 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. ObjectiveThis 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. MethodsA 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. ResultsA 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. ConclusionsData 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 RegistrationAustralia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12618000730202; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=373915&isClinicalTrial=False

Objective: Recording consultations can benefit patients and healthcare providers, but advantageous recording practices are dogged by legal concerns. In Australia, relevant laws are poorly understood. We postulate that local policies are more important than law in guiding consultation recording. This study aimed to describe the availability and content of consultation recording policy in Australian hospitals. Methods: We conducted a scoping review utilising JBI methods and our previously published protocol. We collected policies from Australian hospitals (April–October 2023) about the audio/video recording of patients, providers or others within the hospital. We reported findings descriptively and analysed policies' alignment with the law. Results: Of the 43 hospitals examined, 17/43 (40%) had relevant policies, 17/43 (40%) had a partial policy and 9/43 (21%) had no policy. Policies were usually difficult to find and were stricter than relevant law. Conclusions: When patients want to record their appointments, it can be hard to identify relevant hospital policy. Policies generally weigh against consultation recording and are more restrictive than Australian law allows. These results indicate that healthcare services should develop clear, readily available policies on recording, balancing patients' and providers' interests. What is known about the topic? When patients or providers want to record consultations, they may not know whether they are allowed to. Because relevant law is complex and not well known, hospital policies are likely to guide behaviour. What does this paper add? We asked Australia's 43 largest hospitals for their policies, finding that most had no, or only a scant, policy. Policies usually unduly restricted recording. What are the implications for practitioners? Healthcare providers should have clear, accessible policies that allow consultation recording where appropriate, in support of high-quality provider–patient communication and information provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the challenges and complexities associated with the legal landscape surrounding health consultation recording, emphasizing the variations in consent requirements across different countries and the legal opacity throughout the entire life-cycle of each recording. It mentions despite documented benefits and technological solutions, the widespread adoption of consultation recording faces legal concerns.

Introduction Resourcing nurses with tools to rapidly identify cancer patients disadvantaged by complex care needs and social determinants of health provides an opportunity to address health equity. Standardised identification of people at risk of suboptimal health outcomes using digital resources can help direct support services to those with greatest need, contributing to equitable patient outcomes and system level efficiency. Objectives/Aims To describe clinician needs and preferences for the integration of a digital nursing checklist to identify complex care needs in cancer patients (The Complexity Checklist). Description/Methodology A qualitative exploratory study used semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 19 multidisciplinary participants (nurses, allied health, doctors, and researchers) within a metropolitan specialist cancer centre. Thematic content analysis, informed by an implementation science framework, was used to describe participants' requirements for Checklist integration into the electronic medical record and preferences for its use in practice. Results/Outcomes Nurses were identified as most appropriate to complete the Checklist with cancer patients on first clinical presentation or inpatient admission. All participants highlighted the importance of data collected by the Checklist, agreed it should be accessible to all members of a patient's health care team, be located somewhere highly visible in the electronic medical record and that it would be beneficial to complete with all patients. Potential barriers to Checklist integration included duplication of existing processes or patient questions and needing to incorporate the Checklist into multiple electronic workflows to account for service and discipline variability. Nurses reported the Checklist could be used in routine practice as an alternative way to record patient assessments with potential to increase efficiency by streamlining and standardising documentation. Conclusion Findings demonstrate the importance of stakeholder engagement in development of digital health resources, that there is an appetite for social determinant of health reporting and clinicians see benefit in digitally reporting complex care needs in cancer patients for clinical and research purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]