June 28, 2024

2022 IARS Mentored Research Award Recipient Sunny Lou, MD, PhD

2022 IARS Mentored Research Award Recipient Sunny Lou, MD, PhD, recently published a study in JAMA Network Open as first author. The study evaluated the association between secure messaging and telephone use for clinician communication practices to assess which method is most effective for patient care. This cohort study determined that new messaging systems may increase physician burden and cause interruptions when not used thoughtfully.

During this study, investigators analyzed communication behavior from the smartphones of 1,057 residents at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. The multivariable analysis showed that monthly secure messaging volume was linked with an increase in telephone call minutes.

Currently an assistant professor in anesthesiology at Washington University in St. Louis, Dr. Lou shared that secure messaging use for clinician-to-clinician communication has grown exponentially over the past few years, but the consequences of its use are relatively poorly understood. This gap in knowledge was a key factor in pursuing this study. “The goal of this study was to measure the association between secure messaging use and telephone use. I think many people had hoped that as secure messaging use increased, it would substitute for telephone use, enabling clinicians to streamline their workflows,” she relayed. “However, we found the opposite, that higher secure messaging use was actually associated with higher telephone use, possibly suggesting that secure messaging is adding to the overall burden of communication.”

Dr. Lou shared the potential implications of these findings. She indicated, “These results highlight the potential unintended consequences of novel communication technologies, and reinforce the need to develop and disseminate appropriate policies for secure messaging use.”

Join us in congratulating Dr. Lou on the publication of this important study!

Read the full publication.