Healthcare IT
Mobile health (mHealth) has quickly moved from concept to reality as healthcare practices increasingly embrace mobile technologies. To fully realize the benefits though, a number of challenges will need to be overcome.
As mobile technologies have become more user-friendly, affordable and powerful, the appeal to businesses of all types, including healthcare providers, has grown exponentially. New devices, new form factors, new apps and new methods of connectivity have given physicians a broad array of tools to better care for patients, while contributing to improved efficiencies and cost savings.
Mobile devices such as laptop PCs, netbooks and smartphones are firmly established in the healthcare space. The next wave of mobile adoption will involve tablets and mobile peripherals such as smartphone-powered digital stethoscopes.
The transition to electronic medical records (EMR) continues to gain momentum. To achieve meaningful use and maximize the effectiveness of EMR systems, healthcare providers must contend with several direct and indirect mobility requirements.
Meaningful use criteria such as clinical decision support, e-prescribing and computerized physician order entry (CPOE) are optimally achieved at the point-of-care. For physicians on rounds or specialists working from multiple medical facilities, real-time access to a patient’s complete medical history, drug allergies and treatment recommendations is vital to proper treatment.
CompTIA’s 3rd Annual Healthcare IT Insights and Opportunities study was developed with input from a survey of U.S. physicians, nurses and healthcare administrators, as well as data from a study of IT solution providers that do business in the healthcare vertical.
CompTIA members can read the full report here.