Utilization of the iOS Shortcuts App to Generate a Surgical Logbook Tool: Feasibility Study

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Surgical Practice
• Mobile Health Technology

Background:

• Surgical audit is crucial for improving surgical outcomes and reflective practice.
• Current electronic logbook tools, particularly mobile apps, often omit essential data fields.
• Effective data collection is vital for both personal and unit-level surgical audits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a free and efficient surgical logbook tool using the iOS Shortcuts app.
• To assess the time commitment required for maintaining a surgical logbook with this tool.
• To explore the broader potential of the Shortcuts app for medical data collection.

Main Methods:

• Developed an iOS shortcut named "Operation Note" to capture surgical logbook data.
• Utilized minimum and extended audit data sets recommended by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.
• Assessed the tool's feasibility, including data entry time, accuracy, and completeness.

Main Results:

• The "Operation Note" shortcut successfully collected accurate and useful data for surgical audits.
• Average data entry time was 65 seconds for the minimum data set and 135 seconds for the extended data set.
• A statistically significant difference in time was observed between minimum and extended data set entries (P<.001).

Conclusions:

• The iOS Shortcuts app is a viable platform for creating surgical logbook tools.
• Data collection for surgical audit remains a time-intensive process.
• The "Operation Note" shortcut provides a free, fast, and adaptable solution for surgeons to record surgical operations, complications, and patient demographics.