Hospital using mobile devices, considering security measures

With the use of mobile devices to store and access patients' private data and health files, mobile device management is more important than ever in the healthcare realm. Keeping medical records and other patient information safe has become a significant priority in the healthcare industry for those using smartphones and tablets for work purposes.

Heartland Health, an integrated health delivery system that's based in St. Joseph, Missouri, embraced mobile technology in a big way, SearchHealthIT reported. The organization recently switched over to using specialized iPhones in nursing units. The iPhones come equipped with clinical communication software, no SIM card and only work on the provider's Wi-Fi network.

The company currently has 500 mobile devices that are under its IT department's configurations and numbers are increasing, but the IT department is also increasing its efforts to keep the devices safe.

"As our number of devices has grown, we are finding that provisioning those devices and keeping them secure are the most difficult things," said Kevin Cagg, team leader for client support at Heartland Health. "We are at the point where we need a more robust set of tools."

According to a Manhattan Research report conducted in 2011, 75 percent of U.S. physicians now own Apple products such as iPhones, iPads or iPods. With the numbers increasing daily, hospitals are attempting to find the most reliable mobile device management tools to keep the data on phones secure.

Given the number of doctors who own Apple products and other personal mobile devices, hospitals are also weighing the benefits of "bring your own device" policies. While the current focus is on management of smartphones and tablets, InformationWeek pointed out that this is likely only the tip of the iceberg, and that mobile hardware is poised to transform patient care. The source described potential innovations like virtual keyboards that project onto any flat surface and wearable computers. Forward-thinking healthcare providers might therefore be wise to embrace mobile computing and formulate a long-term, flexible MDM plan.

InformationWeek also pointed to the federal government as an institution that is moving the ball down the field when it comes to mobility in healthcare, striking a balance between enthusiastic adoption of new technology and caution regarding security.

"As we get into the iPads, iPhones and idevices, we need to become a little more disciplined and structured because of the potential risk, given the type of data we deal with," Horace Blackman, CIO of the Central Office, Department of Veterans Affairs, told SearchHealthIT. "We are in the process of looking at a mobile device management solution that will give us end-to-end management capabilities."

A recently released "Federal Mobility Report" showed that nearly all federal IT professionals who were involved in the study issued mobile devices to employees, with more than 62 percent of the IT workers saying they allowed employees to use personal devices for work purposes.