An Information Directory App InHouse Call for Streamlining Communication to Optimize Efficiency and Patient Care in a Hospital: Pilot Mixed Methods Design and Utility Study

BACKGROUND: Communication failures disrupt physician workflow, lead to poor patient outcomes, and are associated with significant economic burden. To increase efficiency when contacting a team member in a hospital, we have designed an information directory app, InHouse Call. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to describe the design of InHouse Call, objectively compare the usefulness of the app versus that of traditional methods (operator or pocket cards, etc), and determine its subjective usefulness through user surveys and a net promoter score (NPS). METHODS: This pilot study utilizing before-after trials was carried out at a tertiary academic hospital and involved 20 clinicians, including physiatrists, hospitalists, internal medicine and family medicine residents, and advanced practice providers/nurse practitioners/physician assistants. InHouse Call was designed to efficiently supply contact information to providers through a simple, user-friendly interface. The participants used InHouse Call in timed trials to contact a health care team member in the hospital via a telephone call. The effectiveness of InHouse Call in connecting the user with a contact in the hospital was measured through timed trials comparing the amount of time spent in attempting to make the connection using traditional methods versus the app. Usability was measured through exit surveys and NPS. RESULTS: The average time spent connecting to the correct contact using traditional methods was 59.5 seconds, compared to 13.8 seconds when using InHouse Call. The degree of variance when using traditional methods was 1544.2, compared to 19.7 with InHouse Call. A call made using the traditional methods deviated from the mean by 39.3 seconds, compared to 4.4 seconds when using InHouse Call. InHouse Call achieved an NPS of 95. CONCLUSIONS: InHouse Call significantly reduced the average amount of time spent connecting with the correct contact as well as the variability to complete the task, thus proving to be the superior method of communication for health care providers. The app garnered a high NPS and positive subjective feedback.