Healthcare CIO’s and Mobile Devices: What’s the Problem?

For those of you getting ready for the Holiday weekend, we hope you have a great weekend! But, for those who are not celebrating – or haven’t left the office just yet – we wanted to pass along a good read about MDM in the Healthcare.

InformationWeek had an article yesterday on the problems healthcare CIO’s are facing when it comes to the proliferation of mobile devices in the healthcare space. The article points out many of the common themes we are hearing (especially when it comes to BYOD) about smart-device management. However, it brings up an interesting point that is often overlooked when the smartphone/tablet/smart-device conversation comes up: what is their effect on the WLAN? Not only do you have extra demand on information traveling to-and-from, but you also need to make sure that the extraordinary amounts of data are secure.

As the article explains, “The ‘bring your own device,’ or BYOD, phenomenon in hospitals has created a networking problem for CIOs by driving up demand on wireless LANs and has kept security officers busy because it’s difficult to control all the data that flows to hundreds or thousands of handheld computers…”

The piece has a lot of interesting information, so if you’re looking for a quick read before you’re off for a long weekend, we suggest you check it out! Also, if you’re interested in learning more about smart-device MDM, check out our upcoming webinar here.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

This is Your Brain… on a Mobile App

CNN recently posted an article highlighting the rise, and evolution, of mobile applications, specifically as it relates to healthcare and brain imaging for diagnosing strokes. Those of us who’ve been around the industry long enough are already aware of the potential for mobile applications in the healthcare space, but the article makes good mention of the fact that technology (smartphones and tablet computers) is starting to deliver more reliable hardware for the tasks.

Medical experts have been skeptical about using a 3.5-inch screen, like the one on an iPhone, for emergency diagnoses. But thanks to advancements in image compression, microprocessors and wireless-data bandwidth, the smartphone may prove to be, like beepers, an essential tool for on-the-go doctors.

Of course, this also plays into the growing concerns with HIPAA and HITECH regulations. With this information on a device, you can see how ensuring that EHR/EMR data is protected is an absolute must, whether it’s on the device or being transmitted wirelessly.

So, that begs the question: How comfortable or uncomfortable would you be knowing your doctors smartphone has an image of your brain on it?

Wavelink on the Road! HIMSS 2011

Happy Monday folks! As you know, we were on the road in sunny Orlando, Florida last week attending the 2011 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) show. Greg Berger sent along a couple of pictures he snapped, and I wanted to share them. We had several people taking photos and we’ll try to get some more posted this week.

We are attending a ton of shows, so take a peek at our Events page and stay up-to-date with our schedule.

Mobile Health Apps on the Rise

Here is a good look at the rise in mobile health applications, and the potential factors still standing in the way of a quick industry-wide implementation.

We’ve known about, and discussed,  the expected jump in healthcare mobility and the road blocks to adopting enterprise level solutions within the industry. But the article does point out some good bits of information, including a staggering figure about the worldwide interest in mobile health (now commonly called mHealth) applications.

Check out the article and if you are in, or work with, the healthcare industry, join us at the 2011 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Show in February.

 

RFID in Healthcare

Many of you are probably already aware of Zebra Tech’s blog, but for those of you who aren’t, you ought to stop by from time to time. Today, I saw a tweet from their feed and thought I’d share.

As we’ve mentioned before, the Healthcare industry is poised to see tremendous growth over the next several years. In this post by the folks at Zebra, they touch upon some of the reasons why. I’m not going to give you all the reasons they discuss because you should check it out for yourself, but here is a snippet from the post:

“Nursing homes and hospitals are starting to use RFID-enabled applications such as wander-prevention systems, as the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease increases. And the pharmaceutical industry, which faces the same supply chain management challenges as any warehouse or distribution center, is relying on RFID solutions for accurate asset tracking.”

They also have a good post on “5 Challenges for Implementing RFID in Hospitals” that is worth a read. As of this post the link was incorrect, so just in case, you can view it here.

Tell us what you think. Do you see the same trend(s)? Are you in the Healthcare industry and have any light you can shed on the discussion?

Expected Enterprise Mobile Data Revenue from ABI Research

I stumbled upon a press release from last week about ABI Research’s expected enterprise mobile data revenue growth over the next four years. The release highlights that revenues should top $27 billion by 2014 and has some interesting nuggets of information. Below is a preview of some of the findings, and you can read the entire release and more get more information here.

From ABI Research:

“But mobile data services revenue share by sector will vary on a region-by-region basis.

• The transportation and warehousing sector in North America has a smaller share of mobile data services revenue than more dominant verticals of government and healthcare. However it will experience the highest growth at 23% as this sector expands use of data services to improve operations efficiencies;
• Construction in the Middle East has slowed from its breakneck pace but it still an important sector maintaining 12% of mobile data service revenues through 2014;
• Mobile data revenues from the manufacturing sector in Asia-Pacific will grow at a CAGR of 15% to increase its share of mobile data services revenues to 26% by 2014. This region continues to be the dominant location for worldwide production of goods.”

How do you feel about this analysis?

Healthcare Mobility to Hit $8.8 Billion in 2010?

We recently posted about the looming enterprise mobility revolution in the healthcare industry and I came across this article which is further evidence. This article cites a recently released report published by Kalorama Information, a healthcare market research firm. Kalorama anticipates a 7% increase in handheld adoption for 2010 and that the total sales will top $8.8 billion for the market. Pretty staggering figures. This obviously begs the question, with the expected increase in mobile assets across the enterprise, what is the expected growth for management solutions that can effectively manage all the wireless inventory?

Slow Wireless Implementation in Healthcare?

Happy Friday everyone!

I think everyone is aware that one of the more evolving marketplaces for our industry is healthcare. As evidence, InformationWeek published an article today that explains how the healthcare field is poised for a big shift towards mobility over the next 2-3 years.

It makes perfect sense, especially as data capture is becoming almost entirely digital and many ruggedized devices are being introduced to function as light-weight handheld computers (where mobility, flexibility and durability are key), so it would seem that the healthcare environment is perfect for such a movement.

But the interesting part is why did the industry take so long to begin the “mobility revolution” while others, such as retail and banking (as the article describes), embrace the concept years before?