Implementation of a Digital Health Technology Platform Improves Neurosurgical Resident Communication Skills

Introduction: Surgical residency lacks standardized curricula for teaching interpersonal and communication skills. We evaluated the utility of a digital health communication platform, Playback Health, that generates audiovisual recordings of patient-provider interactions as a tool for junior neurosurgical resident education.

Methods: Junior (postgraduate year (PGY)-2 and PGY-3) neurosurgical residents rated their comfort working with five attending neurosurgeons (one of whom implemented Playback Health) across 10 categories, grouped into three overarching domains encompassing knowledge base, technical skills, and interpersonal skills on a 10-point Likert scale. Ratings were performed at the beginning of the rotation at the hospital as a baseline and then every two months for a total duration of six months.

Results: At baseline, resident ratings of their comfort working with each physician did not differ significantly between the four Playback Non-Users and the Playback User. Regarding knowledge base, significant improvements arose at the four- and six-month time points regarding imaging knowledge (p = 0.045 and p = 0.003, respectively) and preoperative management (p = 0.024 and p = 0.003, respectively), and additionally for intraoperative knowledge at four months (p = 0.021) and postoperative management knowledge (p = 0.002). Among interpersonal skills, there was a significant difference with the physician who implemented Playback Health compared to Playback Non-Users as early as two months across both categories evaluated (understanding of patient concerns and expectations (p = 0.028) and understanding of patient's support structure (p = 0.005)). This difference was sustained across four- and six-month time points.

Conclusions: The implementation of a platform that generates customized audiovisual content during routine patient-provider interactions may be a valuable tool for resident education, particularly regarding interpersonal skills and understanding of patient specific concerns and support structures.