Implementation of major trauma app: usability and data completeness.

Area of Science:

• Trauma care
• Health informatics
• Clinical data management

Background:

• The UK standard for major trauma patient notes is paper-based.
• A new digital solution, the TraumaApp, was developed through collaboration.
• Electronic health records offer potential benefits like fewer errors and better data collection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the completeness of paper versus electronic trauma notes.
• To assess the acceptability and usability of the TraumaApp.
• To evaluate the implementation of digital clinical records in trauma resuscitation.

Main Methods:

• Trauma team members used either paper notes or the TraumaApp as scribes during major trauma calls.
• A retrospective review framework compared note completeness.
• Statistical analysis included a two-tailed t-test and System Usability Scale questionnaire for app users.

Main Results:

• Paper notes collected 65.1% of data points, while electronic notes collected 69.5%.
• No statistically significant difference was found in the completeness of paper and electronic notes.
• The TraumaApp achieved a mean System Usability Score of 68.4, exceeding the standard for acceptable usability.

Conclusions:

• Digital data collection tools are feasible for accurate record-keeping during trauma resuscitation.
• The TraumaApp demonstrated acceptable usability, suggesting potential for improved information sharing.
• Accurate record-keeping by scribes is critical for immediate and future patient care in major trauma.