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Results from a study recently published in the journal Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research showed that teens involved in a screening program using a hand-held device were 24 percent more likely to have a follow up medical visit and six times more likely to get care for behavioral problems like substance use or depression.
The device is called a Health eTouch pad and was developed by doctors at Nationwide Children’s. It makes valuable use of a teenager’s time in the waiting room, asking them personal questions dealing with issues like depression, drug use and sexual activity. Teens say they feel more comfortable answering to a computer than their parents or doctors.
“It’s given specifically to the physician caring for the patient before the visit so the clinician can come up with a game plan and know specifically what to ask about,” says Kelly Kelleher, MD, MPH, the study’s senior author and director of the Center for Innovation in Pediatric Practice in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s.
Because young patients feel more comfortable with a computer, they’re often more open and honest with their answers. Those answers give doctors an immediate opportunity to talk to adolescents about their health concerns and bring up issues that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.
“We’re hoping that by catching these things early and treating them early, we decrease negative long-term outcomes that have long-lasting health effects,” says Deena Chisolm, Ph.D., lead author of the study and principal investigator in the Center for Innovation in Pediatric Practice at Nationwide Children’s.
Doctors say the Health eTouch pads also make the doctor’s visits much more efficient. By knowing a patient’s concerns before the exam, doctors can focus on those needs right then, and not waste time with other issues.
“Often times there are other issues that we don’t see, but we can’t address them until we see the family again, maybe several months later. This device helps us not to miss the issues that are relevant right now,” says Dr. Kelleher. Thanks to the new device, young patients involved in the study are already feeling more comfortable answering potentially tough questions.
“I don’t think if a physician would have asked me those questions, I would have been as comfortable answering them as I was with the keypad touch screen,” says Lara Steele, a teen from Columbus, Ohio involved in the study.
For teens like Lara, the computers just make sense. Her generation grew up with computers, after all, so many see them as just another natural tool in an effort to lead healthier lives.
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