Is Mobile Health the Key to Broader HIT Adoption?
Tuesday, 1. November 2011
Those who own a smartphone, tablet PC or other mobile device can handily cite the ways it impacts how they access information, interact with others or even manage their day. This is also true in health care settings, where smart phones are expediting decision making and decreasing time providers spend on administration, thanks to a new real-time link to critical data. Counter to the stereotype that health care providers are slow to embrace technology, doctors are leaps and bounds ahead of the mobile curve. A recent Manhattan Research study shows that doctors are using smartphones at more than five times (81%) the rate of the general population. The move toward mobile health and, in particular, the way that it is engaging doctors may also eventually have an unexpected side benefit – faster, more widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHRs).
Despite the incentives and penalties for EHR adoption enacted by the U.S. government under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, statistics from the Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology show that through July of 2011, about half (51%) of small practices (3-5 providers) and not even a third (31%) of solo provider practices are using EHRs. Even in the cases of practices that do use EHRs, they may not always be using HIT in a way that is “meaningful” and in line with the government’s HITECH objectives.
It remains to be seen whether the upcoming penalty phase of HITECH will spur more providers to get on the EHR bandwagon. But the mere fact that smartphone usage by physicians is outpacing EHR adoption (see chart) supports the notion that the solution to the adoption problem may not come from the government’s push, but rather from the pull by physicians opting for mobile technologies.
Doctors’ interest in mobile health will shape the future of HIT in a much more compelling way than the plan outlined by HITECH. Here’s why:
1) Robust EHRs are being developed for mobile platforms. The first phase of full-blown, cloud-based electronic health records that can run on mobile devices is now beginning to emerge, and it includes robust software packages with all of the core functionality found in desktop EHR products. This means that doctors can do everything from enter diagnosis codes, submit a claim or even e-prescribe – all from their smartphone or tablet device.
2) Mobile devices more easily flex to a practice’s workflow than desktop HIT models. Many of the hurdles related to EHR adoption are related to workflow preferences. Being tethered to a desktop computer can be disruptive to the clinical encounter and contrary to many of the reasons physicians opted to practice medicine in the first place. Mobile devices remove many of these workflow issues by enabling doctors to interact with patients more naturally. Most mobile devices now also include voice integration capabilities, video, and social media types of tools that are also germane to doctors’ desire for a more hands-on and direct role with patients.
The combination of a technology tool that supports physicians’ workstyle preferences, and access via that tool to fully functional EHR software will precipitate a complete turnaround in doctors’ attitudes about HIT. Now that smartphones and mobile devices have entered the HIT equation, doctors will stop looking at EHRs as a necessary evil and instead see a useful tool that enhances their productivity and adds value to the patient encounter. Most importantly, this paradigm shift won’t have to be legislated, but will happen organically over time. As long as interoperability needs, device performance and security protocols are met, mobile technologies will be the necessary medicine to get doctors away from paper charts and into a world where data is fluid, and care can be more accessible and better coordinated.
Want to learn more? Watch for our December podcast about mobile health featuring CEO Massoud Alibakhsh.
