Healthcare Organizations Lack Mobile Policies

According to a new report by the mobile health division of the Health Information and Management Systems Society (mHIMSS), the 2011 mHIMSS Mobile Technology Survey, many healthcare organizations lack mobile security policies.

Mobile devices are being used on a widespread basis to access health information; 97% of healthcare organizations access data on mobile devices. Despite this nearly universal access, only 38% have a mobile technology policy in place. Of those without a plan in place, half are developing their policies.

There are many ways that healthcare organizations are using their mobile devices, including:

• Using apps to look up non-personal health information
• Using apps to view patient information compared to recorded patient data
• Accessing data from remote locations

Our own Tim Williams shared with Beckers Hospital Review some best practices for managing mobile devices in healthcare organizations:

1. Define permissible mobile devices
2. Develop policies
3. Manage apps
4. Integrate mobile devices into the overall network

Learn more about these best practices here or contact us to see how we can help.