Medical Students and Personal Smartphones in the Clinical Environment: the Impact on Confidentiality of Personal Health Information and Professionalism

Background: Smartphones are becoming ubiquitous in health care settings. The increased adoption of mobile technology such as smartphones may be attributed to their use as a point-of-care information source and to perceived improvements in clinical communication and efficiency. However, little is known about medical students' use of personal smartphones for clinical work.

Objective: The intent of the study was to examine final-year medical students' experience with and attitudes toward using personal mobile technology in the clinical environment, with respect to the perceived impact on patient confidentiality and provider professionalism.

Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were completed by final-year medical students at the University of Toronto. Respondents were asked about the type of personal mobile phone they use, security features on their personal phone, experiences using their personal phone during clinical rotations, and attitudes about using their personal phone for clinical work purposes.

Results: The overall response rate was 45.4% (99/218). Smartphone ownership was prevalent (98%, 97/99) with the majority (86%, 85/99) of participants using their personal phones for patient-related communication during clinical rotations. A total of 26% (26/99) of participants reported not having any type of security feature on their personal phone, 94% (90/96) of participants agreed that using their personal phone for clinical work makes them more efficient, and 86% (82/95) agreed that their personal phone allows them to provide better patient care. Although 68% (65/95) of participants believe that the use of personal phones for patient-related communication with colleagues poses a risk to the privacy and confidentiality of patient health information, 22% (21/96) of participants still use their personal phone to text or email identifiable patient data to colleagues.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the use of personal smartphones for clinical work by medical students is prevalent. There is a need to more fully address the threat to patient confidentiality posed by the use of unsecured communication devices such as smartphones.