Aisling Kelly, Eamon Kavanagh, Yasir Abdeldaim, Paul Burke, Michael Anthony Moloney
Background: Communication is key to any successful relationship with the patient-physician partnership being no different. Recent advances in technology have provided us with an array of new communication tools such as the mobile phone, the computer, the internet and email. This new technology has revolutionised communications, however, limitations to their widespread use include access, literacy and willingness for both the physician and patient to change.
Methods: A literature review was conducted to identify meta-analyses and randomised control trials that assess information communication tools as a way to provide and support the delivery of patient care. To gather Irish data, questionnaires were handed out to patients attending vascular surgery outpatient clinics.
Results: There were 336 participants. 72.6% of patients were over the age of 55 years. 56.5% of patients selected post as a preferred method of communication and this increased with increasing age; 93.7% of patients, overall, had a mobile phone but just 66.4% use text message. Only 44.2% of patients over 65 use text message, 23.0% use email, 27.9% have a computer and 45.5% have access to the internet with decreasing use with increasing age.
Conclusions: Within this patient population, the use of technologies decreases with increasing age of the patients. This demonstrates a large population of service users who are content with conventional methods of communication. Change within healthcare ICT is inevitable and therefore, these patients need to be guided and educated to allow a smooth transition from the old to the new.
