The AMDIS Connection: Mobile Technologies Deliver What Doctor's Need
Mobile healthcare is a trendy discussion on the internet and at conferences these days. But, what are we really talking about?
Physicians see mobile healthcare as the ability to use their smart mobile devices to access patient data and interact with systems that care for their patients. Unfortunately, the physician's desire for convenience, which is aligned with seeking new ways to improve patient care and remain productive, faces some opposition.
The transition to smart devices began 15 years ago for many physicians with the original U.S. Robotics Pilot. At the risk of dating myself, when I was a resident rounding with this smart device at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, it was a curiosity and the device was viewed by many as nothing more than a toy. Today, smart device utilization has greatly accelerated, and judging from the volume of mobile medical apps, that trend may never reverse. Physicians are smart and practical, and if faced with a choice between a lab coat full of small books and hand-written notes versus an internet-enabled mobile device, the choice is obvious. We risk alienating physicians if we do not embrace this paradigm shift.
The cartoon shows Dilbert asking his cubicle mate, Mordac, for assistance in accessing company data from his iPad. "If I help you, every employee in the company will want the same thing!" an agitated Mordac says.
"They'll want to do their jobs more efficiently?" a puzzled Dilbert asks.
"I can't encourage that sort of thing," Mordac replies.
While this was part of an ad campaign, it also was aligned with previous Dilbert musings. For a long time, security and standardization concerns have been cause for IT to refuse the growing desire by caregivers, especially physicians, to use their personal devices. Security and productivity can't be mutually exclusive, or healthcare is doomed. It's imperative that everyone in IT realize that we all share a common mission:
Patient safety and satisfaction (often forgotten);
Organizational productivity (no margin, no mission); and
Physician satisfaction (we like happy doctors).
If this means devoting resources to figure out how we can provide secure access from physician devices, we should plan for that investment.
Isn't that convenient access to contemporaneous data worth the extra steps necessary to secure viewing of protected patient health information? Technology departments have become integral in the care of patients, and we need to act that way.
Physicians see mobile healthcare as the ability to use their smart mobile devices to access patient data and interact with systems that care for their patients. Unfortunately, the physician's desire for convenience, which is aligned with seeking new ways to improve patient care and remain productive, faces some opposition.
The transition to smart devices began 15 years ago for many physicians with the original U.S. Robotics Pilot. At the risk of dating myself, when I was a resident rounding with this smart device at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, it was a curiosity and the device was viewed by many as nothing more than a toy. Today, smart device utilization has greatly accelerated, and judging from the volume of mobile medical apps, that trend may never reverse. Physicians are smart and practical, and if faced with a choice between a lab coat full of small books and hand-written notes versus an internet-enabled mobile device, the choice is obvious. We risk alienating physicians if we do not embrace this paradigm shift.
The Dilbert factor
There was a recent Dilbert comic strip commissioned by Citrix as part of its "BYO" campaign.The cartoon shows Dilbert asking his cubicle mate, Mordac, for assistance in accessing company data from his iPad. "If I help you, every employee in the company will want the same thing!" an agitated Mordac says.
"They'll want to do their jobs more efficiently?" a puzzled Dilbert asks.
"I can't encourage that sort of thing," Mordac replies.
While this was part of an ad campaign, it also was aligned with previous Dilbert musings. For a long time, security and standardization concerns have been cause for IT to refuse the growing desire by caregivers, especially physicians, to use their personal devices. Security and productivity can't be mutually exclusive, or healthcare is doomed. It's imperative that everyone in IT realize that we all share a common mission:
Patient safety and satisfaction (often forgotten);
Organizational productivity (no margin, no mission); and
Physician satisfaction (we like happy doctors).
If this means devoting resources to figure out how we can provide secure access from physician devices, we should plan for that investment.
Mobility in action
We performed an internal survey and discovered that 90 percent of our physicians use smart mobile devices and more than 75 percent use the Apple iOS platform for personal use. We are in the process of deploying a mobile app called "Haiku," for access to the current medical chart and medical histories in real time. With this tool, physicians can speak with a nurse or colleague while reviewing the chart.Isn't that convenient access to contemporaneous data worth the extra steps necessary to secure viewing of protected patient health information? Technology departments have become integral in the care of patients, and we need to act that way.