A Smartphone APPlication for the Transmission of ECGs in the Management of Patients Presenting With Suspected Heart Attacks in the Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand, and Brant Area
- Conditions
- STEMIMyocardial Infarction
- Interventions
- Other: SMART AMI APPLICATION
- Registration Number
- NCT05290389
- Lead Sponsor
- McMaster University
- Brief Summary
The delivery of timely and appropriate care is crucial for patients with heart attacks. Blocked arteries need immediate intervention to restore blood flow. However, the intervention to open the artery is only available in large, regional hospitals. There are only 18 such hospitals across Ontario. Patients with heart attacks in smaller hospitals, where the majority of patients present, require transfer for specialized services. The smartphone application being evaluated in this study is meant to help with communication between doctors to arrange transfer of such patients.
The current model for communication is based on fax machines or non-secure text messages. Additionally, these are not easily accessible for most physicians, so decisions to transfer patients may be based on incomplete information. Unnecessary transfer, treatments, and procedures expose patients and healthcare providers to undue risk.
Smartphone technology is well integrated into clinical practice and widely accessible. The proposed solution being tested is secure and leverages the accessibility of smartphones. Emergency physicians can use this to quickly, securely, and accurately transmit information ensuring faster and appropriate decision making for transfers.
- Detailed Description
A multi-centre, mixed methods observational study focused on Emergency Department physicians who care for patients presenting to a regional partner hospital in the Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand, Brant Local Health Integration Network (Canada) with suspected ST-segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI). There are approximately 700 STEMI patients per year transferred and treated in the Hamilton General Hospital Cardiac Catheterization Lab. As this study is expected to run over the course of one year, it is anticipated that aggregate patient level data on approximately 700 STEMI patients in the STEMI database will be reviewed.
The study will use a pre-post design to evaluate the implementation and use of a clinical intervention, the SMART AMI App. The study will use quantitative registry data already being collected via the ongoing SMART-AMI project (e.g., STEMI database), utilization of data collected from the SMART AMI App, and quantitative and qualitative survey data from participating physicians. As the intervention in this study is a change in process to improve communication between Emergency Department physicians and Interventional Cardiologists, the study does not directly involve patients and individual patient consent will not be required. No new patient data will be collected for the purposes of this study.
Descriptive quantitative analysis and thematic qualitative analysis of survey results will be conducted. Descriptive and inferential statistics will be used for quantitative data derived from patient charts/registry and physician surveys. Continuous variables will be described using mean ± standard deviation. An interrupted time series analysis will be used to compare trends on time-based quality of care indicators. Categorical variables, such as false activation, will be described as frequencies and compared using a Fisher exact test or chi-square test.
Funding for this study was provided by the Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization (HAHSO) #HAH-21-015.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- COMPLETED
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 260
-
Emergency Medicine physicians at hospitals and urgent care centres located in the Hamilton, Niagara and Brant Local Health area:
- Brantford General Hospital
- Fort Erie Urgent Care Center
- Greater Niagara General Hospital
- Haldimand War Memorial Hospital
- Hamilton General Hospital
- Joseph Brant Hospital
- Juravinski Hospital
- Main Street West UCC
- Norfolk General Hospital
- Port Colborne Urgent Care Center
- St. Catharines General Hospital
- St. Joseph's Hospital
- St. Joseph's Urgent Care Center
- Welland County General Hospital
- West Haldimand General Hospital
- West Lincoln Memorial Hospital
- Willett Urgent Care Centre
- N/A
Study & Design
- Study Type
- OBSERVATIONAL
- Study Design
- Not specified
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Physicians SMART AMI APPLICATION All Emergency Medicine physicians and Interventional Cardiologists involved in STEMI care in the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Local Health area will be eligible for participation in this study.
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Usability 12 months The first primary outcome is usability of the App for Emergency Medicine physicians. This will be measured using electronic surveys and focus groups to identify barriers and facilitators faced when using the App.
Acceptability 12 months The second primary outcome is acceptability of the App for Emergency Medicine physicians. This will be measured using the mHealth App Usability Questionnaire.
Functionality 12 months The third primary outcome will measure functionality of the App for Emergency Medicine physicians. Through electronic surveys, barriers and facilitators faced when using the App will be assessed.
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method STEMI Activations via App 12 months Effectiveness will also be measured by the rate of STEMI activations that utilized the App. This outcome will be acquired from a consecutive sample of patients from the regional STEMI registry. As these data are already collected as part of the ongoing SMART AMI program, no new patient data will need to be collected for the purpose of this study.
Implementation 12 months The secondary outcome will measure implementation of the App. This will be acquired by the number of Emergency Medicine physicians who signed up for the App and used the App. This measurement will be acquired from Google Data Analytics.
Timing of Care Intervals 12 months Further secondary outcomes include measuring effectiveness of the App through timing of care intervals. This outcome will be acquired from a consecutive sample of patients from the regional STEMI registry. As these data are already collected as part of the ongoing SMART AMI program, no new patient data will need to be collected for the purpose of this study.
False Positive Activation Rates 12 months Effectiveness of the App will be further measured by false positive STEMI activation rates. This outcome will be acquired from a consecutive sample of patients from the regional STEMI registry. As these data are already collected as part of the ongoing SMART AMI program, no new patient data will need to be collected for the purpose of this study.
Trial Locations
- Locations (17)
Main Street West UCC
🇨🇦Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Willett Urgent Care Centre
🇨🇦Paris, Ontario, Canada
Brantford General Hospital
🇨🇦Brantford, Ontario, Canada
Joseph Brant Hospital
🇨🇦Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Haldimand War Memorial Hospital
🇨🇦Dunnville, Ontario, Canada
Fort Erie Urgent Care Center
🇨🇦Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada
West Haldimand General Hospital
🇨🇦Hagersville, Ontario, Canada
West Lincoln Memorial Hospital
🇨🇦Grimsby, Ontario, Canada
St. Joseph's Urgent Care Center
🇨🇦Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Hamilton General Hospital
🇨🇦Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
St. Joseph's Hospital
🇨🇦Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Juravinski Hospital
🇨🇦Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Greater Niagara General Hospital
🇨🇦Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
Norfolk General Hospital
🇨🇦Simcoe, Ontario, Canada
St. Catharines General Hospital
🇨🇦St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Welland County General Hospital
🇨🇦Welland, Ontario, Canada
Port Colborne Urgent Care Center
🇨🇦Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada