Study: Patients prefer app for sharing sensitive information

Patients at six primary care practices preferred disclosing sensitive information through a tablet-based app rather than during face-to-face screenings with nurses, according to a study recently published in JAMA Open Network. More than 23,000 patients used the app to screen for depression, intimate partner violence and fall risk. Twice as many patients screened positive for these concerns after the app was introduced into the practices, even though use of the tablets by front desk staff was inconsistent. The researchers attributed the increase to patients feeling greater privacy using the app and the possibility busy clinicians paraphrased screening questions. The app was linked to each patient’s medical record, with pop-up alerts to notify nurses and physicians of significant results. (Medscape article, 3/7/22)