Smartphone Data Capture Efficiently Augments Dictation for Knee Arthroscopic Surgery.

Area of Science:

• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Health Informatics
• Clinical Research Data Management

Background:

• Developing efficient data capture systems is crucial for improving the quality and utility of orthopaedic research.
• Traditional methods like operative notes can be time-consuming and less comprehensive.
• Provider-friendly tools are needed to streamline data collection in clinical settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a provider-friendly, evidence-based data capture system for lower-limb orthopaedic surgeries.
• To assess the system's agreement with operative notes and implant logs, data consistency, and provider input speed.
• To evaluate the potential for enhanced research utility and clinical efficiency.

Main Methods:

• A multidisciplinary team developed a database with Android and iOS interfaces, incorporating branching logic for streamlined input.
• 100 patients undergoing specific lower-limb procedures were selected for data collection.
• Duplicate data were collected via chart review and compared to the system's data using Cohen's kappa statistic.

Main Results:

• The data capture system demonstrated almost perfect agreement (kappa > 0.81) with existing records.
• Provider completion rates were near-perfect (100%), indicating high data comprehensiveness.
• Data entry was highly efficient, with a median completion time of 151 seconds.

Conclusions:

• A well-designed, user-friendly database and interface enhance research utility, clinical efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.
• This system offers advantages over standard voice-dictated operative notes.
• Widespread adoption can accelerate and improve the quality of orthopaedic clinical research.