Patients’ Contact Preference for Clinical Care: A Systematic Review of Non-EMR Contact Modalities

Audrey Amarachi Ojinnaka, MS31; Florence Odaka, MS42; Aman Sandhu MS33 Rahul Kashyap MBBS, MBA, FCCM 3,4

1. Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, New York, NY
2. Trinity School of Medicine, Warner Robbins, GA
3. Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
4. Department of Research, WellSpan Health, York, PA

Background: Although Electronic Medical Record (EMR) based contact is a primary means of connection between providers and patients, current literature lacks data on patient preferences for alternative methods. This systematic review aimed to analyze various non-EMR contact modality patient preferences for patients’ clinical care activities.

Methods: PubMed and the Cochrane Library were searched for articles that addressed non-EMR contact modalities (text messages, surveys, leaflets, pamphlets, email, videos, phone calls, in-person contact, electronic contact, email, and/or mail) that compared patients’ expressed preferences for clinical care. Articles were assessed independently by at least two investigators using Rayyan software to determine their final inclusion. A systematic review was conducted using data from original studies to gather patient preferences for each non-EMR contact modality.

Results: The searches retrieved a total of 846 articles, of which 98 met the criteria for full-text screening. Sixty-six of these had two or more contact modalities addressed and were selected for further review. Of these 66 articles, 48 of them addressed clinical care contact.

When assessing overall patient preference of contact modality for clinical care recruitment, 75.78% preferred video-based n=9 articles, 60.66% preferred pamphlets n=8, and 55.94% preferred in-person contact n=16.

When examining emails as a contact method, an average of 46.9% preferred its use for initial contact method n=26, while for text messaging, 42% preferred its use for initial contact method n=23, while for phone calls, 41.6% preferred its use for the initial contact method n=34.

Conclusion: Overall, the top three contact modalities for patients regarding their clinical care were video, pamphlets, and in-person contact. By taking these preferences into account, one can create a communication strategy that respects patients’ autonomy, minimizes intrusion, and fosters a positive experience for their clinical care.