In today’s demanding healthcare environments, providers use a wide array of mobile devices to access and record data, and to communicate with patients, other staff and departments. With healthcare expected to grow 16% by 2030 alone, the need for better, faster communication is critical to keeping pace with growth. On the upside, utilizing mobile devices enables healthcare teams to access information from anywhere, which can dramatically improve bedside care for patients, while reducing the cumbersome, manual administrative duties of the past.
But utilizing consumer-grade mobility solutions can also present a unique challenge for healthcare organizations. Today’s standard smartphones lack the level of security, durability and speed to keep up with the stringent pace of hospital operations. When combined with new government regulations regarding healthcare data, the pressure is on for leaders to implement safe, cost-effective solutions that will streamline workflows and enable clinical staff to provide a higher level of patient care.
Why Enterprise-Grade Devices?
In hospitals and other clinical settings, mobile devices need to stand up to demanding environments that require regular cleaning and sanitizing, occasional drops, spills, long shifts and more. Unlike consumer smartphones, clinical mobility devices like clinical smartphones and barcode scanners are made to last and built to stand up to the intensity of healthcare workflows.
To further illustrate the importance of purpose-built technology, we’ve compiled a list of reasons why utilizing consumer-grade devices leaves your organization open to device downtime, delays, and increases your total cost of ownership (TCO).
Compromising Patient Security
It’s no secret that the healthcare industry is one of the most vulnerable to cyber-security threats, attacks and data breaches. Commonly used smartphones and their users are consistently at risk of malicious software and scams, which can compromise patient data, confidentiality and access to protected health information (PHI).
Using enterprise-grade mobility guarantees the highest level of data security and visibility by utilizing unified hardware and software platforms with built-in security features to safeguard patient data.
Lack of Support & Integration
So, what do you do when your consumer-grade device malfunctions, fails, or is compromised with malware? With a lack of lifecycle-support for most consumer devices, the answer is to either replace the device causing unnecessary costs and downtime, or resort to manual transcription and data management.
With experienced clinical smartphone integration, your organization has access to full lifecycle support, including device selection, workflow design, troubleshooting and more. And by partnering with the industry’s most widely used EHR providers, a partner like SMG3Rx can ensure compatibility with your organization’s record systems for smoother workflows and best-in-class integration.
Battery Life Causing Downtime
Low battery life is a well-hidden productivity killer. Healthcare devices should have enough battery life to last a full 12-hour shift without interruption. If batteries aren’t built to last, and aren’t removable (like in consumer-grade devices) the device will require charging or swapping, causing significant downtime and sometimes requires more than one device per staff member.
Enterprise devices are built to last. With high-capacity batteries purpose-built to run full shifts, there’s no more waiting while your staff’s phones charge. And with “hot swap” enabled devices, you can eliminate downtime and need for charging completely.
On the race to provide the most reliable, secure, long-lasting, mobility for healthcare, the winner is clear. Enterprise-grade devices are at the top of the stack.
Want to learn more about improving patient care with integrated clinical mobility? Download our eBook today.
