Eligible for inclusion were randomised controlled trials (or systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials) of handheld computers or smartphones used by healthcare professionals to evaluate their impact on processes of care of clinical outcomes, compared with no handheld computer.
Included trials were conducted in the USA, France and Germany across primary care, in-patient and emergency department settings. Most trials involved personal digital assistants that incorporated clinical decision support systems or guidelines, which were used as reference tools. The remaining trials involved the use of personal digital assistants as data collection tools. Outcomes included the appropriateness of prescribing, appropriateness of treatment using clinical decision support systems and accuracy of patient records. All included trials were published and reported in English.
Abstracts were initially screened (and some were rejected at this stage) by one reviewer; remaining abstracts and full text articles were assessed independently by two reviewers. Disagreements were resolved by discussion.