From Health Record Maintenance To Drug Research: How Mobile Tech Is Transforming Healthcare
By Brent Whitfield, CEO, DCG Technical Solutions Inc.
From the arrival of the Blackberry in 2002 to the explosion in smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices we see today, the last decade and a half has seen mobile communication and computing tech come a long way. One industry which has been profoundly affected is healthcare.
Healthcare settings are complex and dispersed, working across multiple centers and accessed by patients who may live a long way from the specific help they need. Mobile technology has already transformed the working practises of healthcare workers and the experiences of service users, impacting on virtually all areas of medicine.
This article divides healthcare into seven areas and looks at the types of technology and IT services, including some specific apps, which have had a huge impact.
Health Record Maintenance And Access
Quickly viewing patient information, particularly their Electronic Health and Medical Records (EHRs and EMRs), has been made possible through mobile technology. Healthcare workers are now able to remotely access the information either directly from their devices or via a proxy PC. One popular set of apps for this purpose are those built by Epic (including Canto, Otnac, and Rover) in partnership with Apple. These apps enable authorized clinicians to access a patient’s EHR while the MyChart app allows patients and their families to provide data and communicate with their health provider.
While not specifically health-related, the TeamViewer app is an example of a cross-platform app which can be used to access a remote PC. This is another way of enabling health care professionals (HCPs) to access centralized health records without being tied to a specific location.
Information And Time Management
Many of the convenient information and time management apps available through the Apple iTunes and Google Play app stores are used by HCPs to manage their day-to-day tasks. Evernote and Gingerlabs’ Notability are popular apps offering a suite of useful functions with Google Keep another useful option which is native on Android devices. These apps allow users to write (and sometimes dictate) notes, store photographs, and organize information into searchable categories.
Native calendar apps are often sufficient for personal time management although there are specialized healthcare apps designed for doctors, nurses, and other HCPs. One challenge health employers have is to ensure shared apps are HIPAA compliant. Non-compliant apps run the risk of security compromise but can be tempting when free to download.
Communication And Consulting
By their nature, mobile devices, particularly smartphones, have made communication a lot quicker and easier for HCPs. Aside from the obvious making of voice calls, mobile devices are used by HCPs to send SMS or MMS texts, emails, and to make video conference calls. In June 2012, the Manhattan Research/Physician Channel Adoption Study found 80 percent of medical students regularly used mobile devices during the course of their training while communicating about patients. Unsurprisingly, communication apps have been developed specifically for the use of clinicians. There is even an HIPAA-compliant social network for HCPs — Doximity — which boasts over half a million verified members.
Patient Monitoring And Management
As well as shortening the distance between patient and healthcare provider, mobile tech has given patients more power over their own health management. Apps such as Zocdoc help patients find HCPs and make appointments. In addition, software developers have released a wealth of monitoring apps for everything from blood sugar and blood pressure to heart rate and pregnancy due date. Once again, the challenge is in ensuring patients are using reputable apps and not damaging their health by relying on poor quality apps or even being scammed by unscrupulous developers. There are a growing number of tests (e.g. hearing and vision tests) that clinicians can perform using a mobile app, slashing time and costs. Other revolutionary examples of patient monitoring technology include smartphone-compatible ECG monitors and GPS-enabled patient tracking (e.g. iWander for people with dementia).
Clinical Decision-Making
Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) have made it much easier for HCPs to make important decisions at the point-of-care. The 2012 Manhattan report revealed 64 percent of clinicians had used mobile tech to access such CDSSs, twice as many as had used a physical resource such as printed guidelines or a textbook. Examples include the 5-minute Clinical Consult (5MCC) app from Unbound which provides diagnostic support, including flow charts, for over a thousand medical conditions. DynaMed from EBSCO Health is another highly rated diagnostic tool which specializes in ensuring up-to-date access to the latest evidence-based research.
Referencing And Information Access
In the 2012 Manhattan study, research came out as the most popular activity carried out by HCPs using mobile technology. Seventy-eight percent of respondents used search engines to find information, while web videos were also popular with clinicians spending an average of three hours per week watching them.
Mobile technology gives HCPs the ability to access a wide range of online resources from journals, drug information, and health news to specialized apps such as medical calculators and real-time information on disease outbreaks. Picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) have streamlined the collection, secure communication, and storage of images from x-rays, CT scans, and other imaging technologies.
CME And Training
Continuing medical education (CME) is a requirement of HCPs and, once again, mobile tech has stepped into the breach to make it much easier for medical professionals to collect credits and access relevant information for their development. For example, MedPage Today offers a free CME tracker for keeping on top of credits.
From online textbooks and literature portals to drug reference guides and e-learning resources, there is a wealth of material available to students and qualified health staff alike, wherever they are located.
The transformation of healthcare through mobile tech is well underway. Some of the challenges facing the industry over the next few years include making sure apps and portals are secure, compliant and reliable; that HCP training keeps pace with technological development; and that technology is used to support and not undermine the valuable professional skills of healthcare workers.
About The Author
Brent Whitfield is the CEO of DCG Technical Solutions Inc. Brent has been featured in Fast Company, CNBC, Network Computing, Reuters, and Yahoo Business. DCG Technical Solutions Inc. was recognized among the Top 10 Fastest Growing MSPs in North America by MSP mentor. Twitter: @DCGCloud