Is There A Doctor In The House?
By Sean McGowan, Codal Inc.
Just like a doctor diagnosing a patient, let’s start by ruling out what isn’t the issue.
This year, popular medical publication Physicians Practice surveyed 187 doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers to find that a massive 75.9 percent of them said their facility used some form of mHealth on weekly basis. Safe to say, adoption isn’t the problem here.
But the same survey found that the majority of those care facilities were using those solutions between just 0 and 5 hours a week. They might have access to mHealth solutions, but they certainly aren’t using them in their day-to-day practices. The question is why.
The brass of these hospitals certainly doesn’t need to be convinced — not if over 75 percent of them are willing to invest in mHealth solutions. But perhaps we need to dig deeper. Perhaps it’s the physicians themselves who aren’t willing to implement these smartphone tools in their workflows.
But another recent study, this one conducted by the American Medical Association, found that 85 percent of 1300 physicians surveyed believed that digital health solutions gave them an advantage in their ability to care for their patients. The following graphic illustrates a more in-depth breakdown of these findings.
The AMA’s study went even further, attempting to identify exactly what attracted these physicians to digital tools like mHealth. The primary reasons cited were improving work efficiency, enhancing diagnostic ability, and most importantly, increasing patient safety. And these were just the most popular factors—the full responses are a laundry list of the benefits mHealth solutions offer.
Another notable conclusion was the high amount of younger physicians that were especially optimistic about the impact digital tools could have. This finding suggests that these solutions are indeed the future of medical practice in the healthcare sector.
So if everything is pointing towards mHealth dominating hospitals and clinics across the country, why isn’t it? If it’s not the higher-ups or the users themselves, what’s left? The quality of the mHealth solutions themselves.
Designing mHealth Solutions That Work
As a mobile app development agency, Codal hears the word ‘disruption’ thrown around quite a bit. It’s devolved into cliché status at this point, but still, people believe the key to successful applications is something that will destabilize an industry or irreversibly change how we do things.
But in the healthcare space, the users say differently. And when it comes to crafting mobile user experiences, the user is king.
Let’s revisit the Physicians Practice survey. From their analysis, researchers found something completely counterintuitive to the disruption theory: doctors weren’t interested in overhauling their entire process; they simply wanted them to fit into their existing systems and tech.
This is the essence of interoperability — the meshing of different technologies and systems to create a more efficient network. It’s what’s most important to the physicians interfacing with mHealth solutions, and the data backs it up.
Physicians Practice found that one of the most desired mHealth applications was one that provided mobile access to a facility’s electronic health records, or EHR. They weren’t interested in something to replace or dismantle what’s (likely) an outmoded record database — they were more receptive to a solution that could co-exist with it.
This is the kind of user research that is absolutely indispensable to the mission of UX design agencies like Codal. And it’s just the tip of the iceberg — physicians know exactly how they want their mobile apps to help them do their jobs. Seventy percent wanted a secure messaging feature for interoffice communication. Four percent cited the need for a mobile resource for education on medical issues.
So yes, hospitals have a smartphone problem. But the answer is right in front of them: work with physicians, nurses, administrative staff — the users — and find a digital agency that can harness those desires and needs. Ultimately, they must deliver mHealth solutions that can truly improve how healthcare is provided.
About Codal
Codal Inc. is a UX design and development agency with a focus on blending an agile process with the latest technologies. Based in the heart of Chicago, Codal has a knack for bringing out the best in every organization that they work with. With vast industry expertise, Codal has a strong team of skilled and experienced business and technical experts.
With a focus on healthcare IT solutions and healthcare digital transformation, Codal helps various medical companies grow and enables them to provide a better experience to their patience and customers. Learn more at https://www.codal.com.