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Exploring Patient Reactions to Pen-Tablet Computers: A Report from CaReNet

Department of Family Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Aurora, Colo

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Deborah S. Main Department of Family Medicine UCHSC at Fitzsimons PO Box 6508-Mail Stop F496 Aurora, CO 80045-0508 debbi.main{at}uchsc.edu

PURPOSE We wanted to study patient receptivity to using pen-tablet computers for collecting data in a practice-based research network.

METHODS We analyzed exit interviews and field notes collected by trained research assistants as part of a larger Colorado Research Network (CaReNet) study comparing pen-tablet and paper-pencil methods to collect data for the Primary Care Network Survey (PRINS).

RESULTS A total of 168 patients completed a patient exit interview after completion of the pen-tablet–based survey instrument. Analyses of these brief interviews and field notes indicated that patients had favorable reactions to using pen-tablet computers. The most common barriers were related to glitches in the technology; the voice recognition software was the most problematic, with patients (as well as clinicians) finding this feature to be frustrating.

CONCLUSIONS Patients were able and willing to use pen-tablet computers for completing forms within busy primary care offices. Increasing patient involvement in practice-based research may be even more practicable through the use of this novel technology, which can allow patient-directed data collection at a single point in time as well as longitudinally.

Key Words: Research design, practice-based • patients • computers • data collection • surveys

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