Smartphones Invade Healthcare

What work-related activities physicians do on their smartphones? Here are insights from an online survey among physicians from the Medefield panel.

 

As someone who works with hospitals and health systems, I’m fascinated by the increasing interplay between smartphones and healthcare. Turns out, doctors are just like the rest of us: they take their smartphones everywhere and look for apps to make their personal and professional lives more convenient.

At the same time, physician practices, hospitals and health systems are working aggressively to install electronic medical record (EMR) systems. A clinically-integrated EMR system is fundamental to value-based care, and hospitals are spending millions on equipment and software to lay the groundwork for this transition. As with any new system, extensive training and integration is needed. Can you imagine the frustration an IT executive feels when showing off a new system and, instead of being showered with praise, the medical staff simply asks, “Is there an app for that?”

Recently, we surveyed physicians to learn more about this smartphone invasion. We wanted to know:

• What work-related activities physicians do on their smartphones, and
• If smartphone use varies by
  • Employment status (hospital employed or independent practice)
  • Specialty (general practitioner, cardiologist, emergency room physician, endocrinologist, gastroenterologist, general surgeon, OB/GYN, orthopedist, oncologist and pediatrician)

Nearly All Docs Use Smartphones at Work

Just how extensive is smartphone reach, anyway? More than 80% of physicians across almost all specialties indicated they use a smartphone in their work. OB/GYNs and oncologists lead the pack with 90% usage while gastroenterologists were the only group below 80%. Checking email is the most common work-related activity, with primary care physicians and specialists on the move (cardiologists, general surgeons, OB/GYNs and orthopedists) using it most.

Clinical Decision Tools are Catching On

Email is one thing, but a thrilling aspect of integrating smartphones into medicine is the ability to support clinical decisions. Over 50% of physicians reported using smartphones for patient information, and 22% indicated they use clinical decision tools to guide or supplement their treatment decisions. Emergency medicine leads the way in the use of clinical information and clinical decision tools via smartphone.

Whether a physician is employed by a hospital or works independently has little effect on smartphone usage rates or the tools used.

Is Healthcare Ready?

The story here is exciting. Healthcare is forcing consumers to take a more active role in their care, and smartphone communication will likely play a large role (check out Castlight Health, as an example). It won’t take long for consumers to expect their doctor to text them. Thankfully, physicians appear to be well on their way to adapting to this new environment. But, I wonder how quickly hospitals and health systems will adapt. Implementing a new EMR is a massive undertaking. I predict that hospitals and systems that are far along the EMR road will be able to offer their doctors patient information in an app much more quickly. It’s the hospitals and health systems that are just now getting on the EMR highway that may face a bumpier ride.

About the Study

Market Strategies conducted a web survey on January 16-17, 2013 with a national sample of 659 physicians from the Medefield panel.  Due to its opt-in nature, this online panel (like most others) does not yield a random probability sample of the target population. As such, it is not possible to compute a margin of error or to statistically quantify the accuracy of projections. Market Strategies will supply the exact wording of all survey questions upon request.

 

This content was provided by Market Strategies International. Visit their website at www.marketstrategies.com.