Mobile app became the predominant OPI-call modality during intervention (65% of calls)

Description #

The origin of OPI calls shifted sharply toward the app once it was available (Fig. 2). During the intervention, 106 of 163 calls (65%) to the OPI service were placed via the mobile application, versus 48 (29%) by Vocera Badge and 9 (6%) by landline; app use rose further to 76% of calls postintervention. Before the app existed, calls were placed only by Vocera Badge (75%) or landline (25%), so the app became the predominant access modality and displaced the landline channel.

"In the intervention period, 106 (65%) calls to the OPI service were placed using the mobile application, 48 (29%) via Vocera Badges, and 9 (6%) using landlines." (Narang, 2019, p. S187)

Methods Context #

What? #ⓘ

The observable: the origin (modality) of each OPI call — mobile application, landline phone, or Vocera Badge — and its share of calls in each study phase.

"Origin of phone calls to the OPI service varied by the study phase (Fig. 2)." (Narang, 2019, p. S187)

How? #ⓘ

The hospital interpreter-services program logged the total number of OPI calls and their channel, letting the investigators partition calls by whether they were placed through the app, a landline, or a Vocera Badge across the three phases.

"We were able to distinguish whether calls to the OPI were made through the application, landline phone, or Vocera Badge." (Narang, 2019, p. S186)

Who? #ⓘ

The 65 UCC clinicians at a New York City cancer center's Urgent Care Center, whose OPI calls were tracked across preintervention, intervention, and postintervention phases.

"In total, 65 physicians, physician assistants, and nurses participated in the study out of 89 UCC clinicians." (Narang, 2019, p. S186)

Other Notes #

The modality shift complements the total-frequency finding: the app not only raised the volume of interpreter calls but became the channel through which most were placed.