Prominent healthcare CIO backs tablet use within industry

As the chief information officer of the CareGroup Healthcare System, Dr. John Halamka is among the most well-known and respected health IT executives in the country. It appears he can also be categorized as a backer of the use of mobile devices within the industry, so long as certain improvements to the practice are made.

Halamka recently contributed a report for the the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality’s Web Morbidity and Mortality online journal, detailing his experience with mobile devices at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

According to the doctor, mobile devices hold great promise within the healthcare sector - as they do with many other industries - but providers must follow best practices for mobile device management. In Boston, Halamka's organization is working on several new MDM initiatives it hopes will promote effective yet secure use of devices.

"To try to reduce security and distraction risks, we will pilot test several new policies such as restricting access to personal email and social networking sites," he wrote.

That also highlights the fact that Beth Israel is working with a bring-your-own-device program for enterprise mobility, which is interesting considering the high level of regulation present for all providers.

Halamka said that physicians and nurses at the hospital have used their own money to purchase about 1,000 iPads and 1,600 iPhones. However, there could be even more consumer devices in use as he didn't count BlackBerry or Android-powered devices.

The iPad seems to be the most popular device among physicians, Halamka wrote. He said nearly all of Beth Israel's doctors use the devices for such functions as entering orders, viewing results of various tests and updating electronic medical records.

What's more, the devices have also allowed physicians to spend more time with patients, as a study at the hospital revealed an iPad user spends 39 fewer minutes at a computer workstation per eight-hour shift.

The use of mobile devices in healthcare has been a hot topic much of this year, as more innovative smartphones and tablets have been released. A recent CIO magazine report revealed that many feel the same as Halamka, in that the devices hold promise for healthcare, but changes are needed. Specifically, the CIO report stated, desktop apps should be translated for the smaller screens and form factor of tablets.