A new report on mHealth adoption faults electronic health record providers for not making their products mobile-ready. But it also foresees a promising future for mHealth as those vendors work to enable clinicians to access EHRs on their smartphones, tablets and other devices.
In fact, the 2014 Mobile Trends Report, prepared by Epocrates, says the Affordable Care Act will push the conversation away from hardware and into software. And that's where mHealth will provide the advantages.
"As EHR use has increased due to incentives associated with the Affordable Care Act, this has fueled the increased use of computers as many EHR platforms are not mobile-optimized," the report stated. "We feel certain that going forward, the administrative tasks associated with EHR documentation will need to become more user-friendly to create greater efficiency in the workflow. Given self-reported intent of 74 percent of clinicians to adopt tablets, smartphones and computers into their workflow by Q2 2015, the migration of tasks to mobile devices will likely continue to grow."
The report cites an oft-used argument for the slow adoption of mHealth: Healthcare providers are focused on adopting EHRs first. In fact, according to the report, clinician use of smartphones and tablets has actually declined over the past year while computer use has risen – presumably because clinicians have to use computers in order to use their EHRs. That said, the report also noted that 74 percent of clinicians surveyed expect to use smartphones and tablets in the coming year, pointing to a resurgence in the mHealth trend.
[See also: How providers are harnessing mobile asthma apps.]
“It’s clear there is an opportunity to help healthcare providers bridge the gap between desktop and mobile while minimizing some of the more exasperating EHR pain points,” said Anne Meneghetti, executive director of medical information at Epocrates, in a press release accompanying the report. “Providers expect EHRs to be mobile-optimized, allowing them flexibility to coordinate administrative tasks anytime, anywhere.”
According to the report, mHealth adoption is increasing among those working with clinicians at the point of care. Physician assistants, nurse practitioners and pharmacists are all cited as "shining stars in terms of mobile engagement."
"More than 80 percent of nurse practitioners, physician assistants and pharmacists contend that mobile device usage has led to improved patient care, exceeding even the high percentage of clinicians who hold this view," the report stated. "In fact, a closer look at mobile device adoption and frequency of use of these devices across all HCP segments surveyed reveals that hospital pharmacists lead all respondents in tablet adoption and digital omnivore (those who use smartphones, tablets and computers on a regular basis) status, while physician assistants and nurse practitioners rank first and second, respectively, in terms of daily minutes spent on tablets. Easier, faster access to information and increased flexibility to work outside the office are the key drivers among allied health professionals who utilize a smartphone or tablet for professional purposes."
In conclusion, timing is important. "It’s possible that electronic health record implementation, mobile device adoption and user demand for seamless, intuitive collaboration across the healthcare continuum may converge to create the kind of care delivery system patients and providers have been waiting for," the report said.
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