Is the Use of the Join App, a Communication Mobile Application for Medical Workers, Effective for Implementing Workstyle Reform for Physicians?

Abstract

Background: In many countries, long working hours among physicians have become a serious concern because of the increased risk of health problems and medical errors. To address this, Japan began implementing workstyle reforms for physicians in 2024, setting upper limits on working hours. At our hospital, physicians use “Join”, a mobile communication application for medical workers, to reduce the overtime burden by facilitating case consultations.
Materials and methods: Multiple departments at our hospital, including orthopedic, neuroplastic, and general surgery departments, use Join for case consultations and emergency case discussions. To examine whether Join reduces the workload, we conducted a questionnaire survey with two groups: physicians who received case consultations via Join (Group A: 19 physicians) and those who requested consultations (Group B: 18 physicians). Results: In Group A, the out-of-hours consultation frequency increased for eightrespondents (42.1%) and decreased for eight (42.1%). Eleven (57.9%) indicated that their overtime burden “Improved”, whereas two (10.5%) stated that it “Worsened”. All respondents found Join helpful in deciding treatment options, and 16 (84.2%) reported that it was beneficial for workstyle reform. In Group B, 15 respondents (83.3%) used Join frequently and 17 (94.4%) felt that they were more beneficial than phone-only consultations. All respondents found Join helpful for treatment decisions, with 14 (77.8%) reporting that it supported work-style reform.
Conclusions: The use of the Join app and other information communication technologies can help reduce physicians' overtime workload while maintaining medical care quality. However, this study relied largely on subjective evaluations and lacked objective outcome evaluations; therefore, additional investigations are required.

Screenshots of case consultations via Join. Note: dialogues are in Japanese; all data are de-identified.

(a) Consulting whether to accept the case of a trauma case. (b) sharing clinical photographs to consult about a case of fingertip amputation. (c) Consultation regarding the treatment plan for a severe trauma case.