Assessment of Digital Communication Tools Used in Inter-Hospital Referral System in Selected Primary Hospitals

This study employed a descriptive research design to determine the extent of digital platform utilization by a selected primary hospital in its inter-hospital referral system in Pangasinan. The respondents are professional nurses currently employed at a selected primary hospital in Pangasinan Province. The primary data collection instrument in this study is a structured survey questionnaire, which includes the respondent's profile, evaluation of digital platform utilization, and common issues encountered by nurses. It also tackled the benefits of utilizing digital platforms in the inter-hospital referral system. The findings of the study show that the majority of the respondents belonged to the Twenty to twenty-nine years old, mostly females, and were staff nurses. Most of them were assigned to the medical ward, where they served for one to five years and were trained in basic life support. There are thirty-five or forty-two-point-seven percent of the respondents have utilized digital platforms in the inter-hospital referral systems, with processing times for digital referrals ranging from thirty-one to fifty-nine minutes. There are thirty-five or forty-two-point-seven percent have utilized the digital platforms in the inter-hospital referral system with a frequency of usage of once a week. There are forty-six or fifty-s ix-point one percent of the respondents have utilized Facebook or Messenger as an inter-hospital referral system, along with the type of digital platforms used. Regarding the extent of problems or issues encountered in using digital platforms in the inter-hospital referral system, along with technical challenges, the respondents perceived these to have mostly affected the utilization of digital platforms. When considering the extent of problems or issues encountered in using digital platforms within an inter-hospital referral system, along with user-related challenges, the respondents perceived these to have primarily affected the utilization of digital platforms. There is a moderately perceived benefit of using digital platforms in the inter-hospital referral system. Furthermore, there is no significant relationship between the extent of problems and issues encountered and the perceived benefits of using digital platforms in the inter-hospital referral system.