Mobile Technology in Healthcare

The launch of the iPad in 2010 also launched the healthcare industry into a mobile revolution. According to Manhattan research, tablet use among U.S. physicians "doubled in one year with 62% of doctors reporting that they regularly use a tablet for professional purposes. Half of them use iPads in point of care situations involving patients.” Since that report, mobile technology has advanced rapidly, and its use has grown faster than most expected, infiltrating just about every aspect of healthcare.

Some of the ways medical professionals utilize mobile technology are:

·      Accessing electronic medical records (EMR):  Doctors now can access patient records with the swipe of a finger on their tablet. This saves them from printing out and carrying around paper copies of medical history. This also allows them to update the records more quickly and efficiently, aiding in collaboration with others on the medical team.  

·      Research and Referencing: Mobile devices allow medical professionals to quickly and easily access resources like Medscape Mobile, an app by WebMD with thousands of free drug, disease, and procedure references. The days of thumbing through huge volumes of medical references are over with searchable online databases at one’s fingertips.

·      Diagnostic and Treatment Aids: Hospital systems are becoming equipped with the technology to instantly upload test results, X-Ray images, and more to a doctor’s mobile device. This allows them to get real-time updates on patients remotely and make critical decisions more quickly. There are also mobile apps that calculate drug dosages

·      Communication: Tablets can be an excellent tool for communicating with patients. Applications such as Skeletal System Pro III provide interactive charts and images that doctors and patients can view together while discussing diagnosis and treatment.

Besides the benefits of improved care and communication explained above, patients also enjoy additional benefits from mobile technology. Among these are:

·      More accessible information: Healthcare systems involve so much more than just the actual medical information, and they can be hard to navigate for the uninitiated. One hospital in Singapore has installed iPads in kiosks around the hospital where visitors and patients can look up hospital information and find their way around the building. The app VueMe gives individuals the ability to view their medical images. It is not intended for self-diagnosis, but allows for easy access to images for doctor visits.

·      Empowerment: Some mobile apps allow individuals to take steps in their own healthcare, alleviating some dependence on professionals and the cost of doctor visits. The mobile app BiliCam allows parents to screen their newborn baby for jaundice at home. The app has been found to be more accurate than some hospital equipment and can alert the parent if a hospital visit is necessary. Apps like these are making it more and more feasible for individuals to take charge of their own health and take preventative action.

There are some limitations to mobile technology, but advances are constantly being made to remedy these. For instance, the lack of a keyboard is a major hindrance in taking notes and updating records for many doctors. However, one company is working on a voice recognition software that will allow for speech-to-text technology that will eliminate the need for typing. Another major concern for hospitals is the security risk presented by mobile devices, not only for the actual devices which are small and easy to steal, but also because of the sensitive data on them.  The Medopad application being developed in the UK can be set up so that when a device leaves the hospital network, patient information would no longer be available on it.

While some are concerned that pervasive use of technology could get in the way of doctor-patient relationships, making healthcare automated and less human, it could be argued that the many benefits of mobile technology far surpass the costs. In fact, in the hands of a caring and conscientious doctor, they should only improve the quality of care.  

How has mobile technology changed your healthcare experience?