Mobile Health's Growing Pains
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Mobility is becoming an increasingly integrated element of health IT.
Mobility in healthcare is accelerating. BYOD makes great sense in the industry, especially to Gen X and Y employees, and tablet-wielding medical practitioners. But IT managers must take a balanced approach to the phenomenon to ensure that mobile platforms and BYOD programs are implemented in HIPAA-compliant ways.
The impact of mobility is no longer confined to the devices themselves, however. It is now also affecting the wider computing infrastructure. In fact, as Gartner’s Predicts 2016: Mobile and Wireless report explains, mobility is becoming an increasingly integrated — and invisible — element of IT.
According to TechRepublic, AirWatch by VMware director of healthcare solutions Paul McRae said, “Probably the most notable change in our line of business is that we’re finally starting to see healthcare systems begin to look at the mobile platform as a true work flow tool.” This includes the adoption of BYOD.
As mobility insinuates itself into all aspects of our lives, the challenge of integrating mobile technologies becomes increasingly important for healthcare as IT leaders and vendors address privacy and security threats from new sources while also meeting the needs of their users, according to Insight.
McRae explained that supporting HIPAA compliant strategies is crucial. “That’s really the linchpin of the discussion. If you look at what’s required to implement a mobile strategy or leverage mobile solutions within an environment, you really need to have the wherewithal to implement a HIPAA compliant program.”
Mobility allows healthcare providers to instantly access important information. Clinicians are increasing the rate at which they are adopting mHealth tools and apps, and more than half of clinicians — 53 percent — now use a tablet to access EHRs, take notes or send e-prescriptions, and nearly half — 48 percent — use smartphones to search for information.
But this increased use of mHealth platforms also increases the HIPAA security risks for healthcare organizations, who must remain compliant or face stiff penalties. According to a KLAS survey, the use of personal mobile devices in healthcare settings is the second biggest concern with data security for providers. The use of mobile devices increases security risks, calling into question issues surrounding encryption, authorized access and mobile security.
Nearly 60 percent of pediatric hospitalists sent or received work-related text messages on their personal smartphones, according to a study in Telemedicine and e-Health, while 30 percent indicated receiving PHI in a text message. Despite the proliferation of protected health data being transmitted via personal devices, only 11 percent said their institutions offer encryption software for text messaging.
As the Gartner Predicts 2016: Mobile and Wireless report states, “As mobility moves into its maturity phase, its impact becomes less self-contained under the banner of mobility, and instead spreads across the computing infrastructure. Security, manageability, and productivity are the key themes presented in this Predicts note.” Their predictions “support the concept that mobility is becoming more invisible as it pushes its challenges into every traditional area of IT, forcing those areas to become more robust. It is important that IT continually use mobility as the ultimate test of the viability and completeness of all strategies that become part of any IT or vendor’s overall plans.”
The Gartner report concludes, “It is important that IT continually use mobility as the ultimate test of the viability and completeness of all strategies that become part of any IT or vendor’s overall plans.”