Mobility is one of the hottest trends in the healthcare sector, and for that reason one of our ten bets. From device manufacturers, apps developers and communications service providers, the race for market share has begun. Enhanced communications, improvements in the clinical workflow and the creation of an environment which aids in achieving superior patient care are the main benefits driving adoption. Following extensive media coverage highlighting incidences of substandard patient care and experiences, healthcare providers are continuously striving to improve on care delivered. Mobility promises another option to utilise when attempting goals for improving on the services it delivers.
Device perspective
Smartphone and tablets such as the iPad have increased awareness of the potential of devices. GTSI offers a lightweight, hand held tablet device which provides an assurance it complies with infection control protocols – an essential requirement of all devices used in the clinical environment. Effective time management can improve the quality of work produced and also save costs. Therefore, a unique selling point of this tablet device is that it has an ability to perform many tasks all on one easy to use unit, saving time and enhancing productivity. Furthermore, it incorporates technology which is designed to improve data quality, reduce errors due to its easy to use design, eliminate the need for paperwork and improves the standard of documentation.
Significantly, the availability of such a design is sure to have huge impact on the quality of the patient experience as nurses and physicians often become overloaded with documentation. Consequently, basic aspects of patient care may become neglected due to time constraints. This device is designed to free up the time of the clinician which gives them more time to spend on care of the patient.
Additionally, if the system does run without any glitches and to its specification, the availability of this new innovation may lead to less mistakes and improved safety with the assurance of security for sensitive patient records.
Controlled access perspective
Efficient communication between healthcare staff in a non-clinical setting can also be challenging by using telephones and standard computers systems alone, especially when it comes to protecting patients’ confidential records. Dell’s Mobile Clinical Computing solution which includes virtualized clients from VMWare is designed to give ease of access to both patient records and multiple applications whilst on the move without compromising security and confidentiality. Dell also provides customer service and support to aid in training and any queries adds to the benefits of this product as opposed to using a standard computer and email system. This Dell package aims to improve efficiency, enhancing the quality of patient care, tasks can be achieved at a quicker pace leaving more time for other tasks and improving the overall experience.
Measured adoption
There is real potential to use these advances to speed up documentation, store medical records which can be accessed on the move without compromising on confidentiality and improve efficiency in order to free up precious time of qualified, skilled clinicians and nurses. Healthcare providers may actually see these products saving on overall expenditure in the long run as the can act to reduce many other associated costs in addition to providing a vast enhancement in the quality of patient care.