The Benefits of Mobile Technology in Healthcare

Mobile technology has dramatically expanded throughout the world over the past few years. And it’s projected that the use of mobile technology will increase even more. Some experts predict that in just a few short years, there will be more than 10 billion mobile devices in the world.

Mobile technology has impacted our society in largely transformative ways. The use of tablets and smartphones has redefined communications across the globe. But perhaps the biggest advantages is that of wireless technology giving us the ability to access the internet anywhere at any time. And, new solutions are continually being developed all the time. Mobile and wireless technologies have improved many aspects of the corporate world — and their potential when it comes to medicine is immeasurable.

Technology can significantly improve health outcomes. For example, it can help with chronic disease management by reminding patients to take their medications at the right time. It can also help patients more easily access their medical charts via their smartphones at anytime. So with all these proven benefits, let’s look at three ways mobile technology is already changing healthcare.

 

#1 Mobile Patient Portals

Healthcare portals that allow patients to communicate with physicians via their mobile phones to offer a convenient way to communicate with them. Mobile patient portals provide plenty of advantages for both doctors and patients. This gets rid of the need for time-consuming phone calls. Plus, patients can send messages 24/7 at their convenience. Patient portals can also be used to provide education to patients, reminding them of their appointments and sending bills.

The Intiva Health platform offers something like this…for free. Intiva Connect brings HIPAA-compliant messaging, emailing, and document sharing to medical professionals, patients, and patient caregivers. The Connect feature allows medical professionals to access and share patient records, submit lab orders, refer their patients to other specialty providers and connect with other healthcare professionals on the Platform. Furthermore, Connect integrates with EHRs and lab applications across the US, making it a complete interoperability solution.

 

#2 Mobile Telemedicine

The use of smartphones and tablets to offer telemedicine is at the forefront of medicine. This technology is extremely helpful in emergency situations, especially in rural areas. Telemedicine provides a way for people who live in rural areas to get quick assessment and treatment information. Additionally, it can be used to connect people with specialists and other medical professionals. Telemedicine is especially useful for people who have difficulty accessing preventive care, such as seniors.

 

#3 Remote Monitoring

Mobile devices can be used to help monitor patients’ medical conditions. The technology company Qualcomm recently partnered with an Arizona healthcare program to provide remote monitoring technology to cardiac and pulmonary patients. The patients wear a particular device that is connected to a mobile application. The device collects the patient’s bio-metric data and sends that information to their physician.

The data is also sent to the mobile app. The physician can send educational materials to patients on the app. Patients can also connect with their nurse case manager and set appointments on their mobile device. Patients participating in the program have had significantly fewer hospitalizations, and their stays were shorter as well. They also had fewer health care costs compared to six months before starting the program.

As is evident, mobile technology can be used to communicate with patients, streamline your practice and more. The use of mobile technology in healthcare will likely only grow as more and more people rely on smartphones every single day.