"ER Patients Prefer Technology to People"

From GoLocalProv:

Has the iPad replaced the nurse in emergency rooms? No, but a Rhode Island Hospital researcher has found that emergency department patients prefer technology-based interventions for high-risk behaviors such as alcohol use, unsafe sex and violence, over people. In the paper by Megan L. Ranney, MD, ER patients said they would choose technology (ie text messaging, email, or Internet) over traditional intervention methods such as in-person or brochure-based behavioral interventions. The study is available now online in advance of print in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

The study was a cross-sectional survey of urban emergency department patients ages 13 and older. Patients answered questions about what kinds of technology they already use, what concerns they have about technology-based interventions, and what format they would prefer to receive interventions on seven health topics: unintentional injury; peer violence; dating/intimate partner violence; mental health; tobacco use; alcohol/substance use; and risky sexual behaviors