SMARTPHONE USE IN PAEDIATRIC PRACTICE: A NATIONAL SURVEY

Results: From a total of 78 randomly selected eligible participants, 75 (96%) paediatricians agreed to participate in the study. The majority of physicians reported that they owned a smartphone (n53, 71%) and the rest (n22, 29%) used a Symbian phone as their primary device. Of those who owned a smartphone, 40% (n21) reported using at least one app related to their clinical work. The mean number of applications used by these users was 3.5. The majority (44/53, 83%) responded that they did not use their smartphone as a tool for managing patient appointments, while 9 out of the 53 (17%) responded positively. Over 80% of participants used their smartphone to take or receive a picture or a video from their patients for professional purposes. Conclusion: This study found a high level of smartphone ownership and usage among medical Cypriot paediatricians, corroborating with previous literature for other specialties in other countries. Despite the benefits they offer, more rigorous validation practices regarding mobile medical apps need to be established to ensure they are used safely and appropriately.