The promise of mHealth technology is almost limitless. The tricky part is figuring out the best and most effective ways to unlock it.
WRITTEN BY MIKE MILIARD, MANAGING EDITOR E
VERYBODY uses mobile devices, but no one is still quite sure how to make the most of
them. That, to varying degrees of more- or-lessness, is the upshot of the most recent HIMSS Analytics Mobile Technology Survey, which for the past three years has taken the pulse of an industry still coming to terms with the benefits and risks of mobile technology. As providers try to get a handle on
how best to put wireless technologies to work, HIMSS polled them in 2013 on six areas of focus: new care models; technology; ROI and payment; legal and policy implications; standards and interoperability; and privacy and security. Broadly speaking, they represent
“the six areas to consider as you roll out an mHealth implementation strategy,” says David A. Collins, senior director, mHIMSS.
It’s a Multifaceted Phenomenon The results of the survey show just
what a multifaceted thing the still-new phenomenon of mobile technology in healthcare represents. Some organizations clearly have a handle on what they want from it and how they plan to get there. Others are still finding their way. On the policy front, for instance, just
more than half of providers—some 59 percent—said they had a mobile plan in place; 29 percent said they were in the process of putting one together. Where they did exist, most policies had to do with data security. When it comes to securing devices, however, there’s still a mishmash of strategies, with use of passwords the most common. But privacy policies are easy,
relatively speaking. It’s where and how to use mobile devices for care delivery that many providers still seem to be tossing around ideas. Pharmacy
2 CONNECTION/HEALTHCARE IT 2014.Q3
management—medication reminders or medication reconciliation—remain popular, but still, just more than one-third of providers thought mHealth tools would “substantially or dramatically” impact care—a decrease from the two-thirds that thought so just a year ago.
What’s the Right Approach? Does that represent a steep decline
in confidence that these tools can get the job done? Or is it just a recognition many providers are still unsure just how do it?
Responses to HIMSS’ questions
about interoperability are illustrative of the different clinical approaches. Most organizations said their clinicians had the ability to access clinical systems via a mobile device, most often over the Web, using virtual private networks. The numbers are similar for
notifications from remote monitoring
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