- Research from Jamf and Vanson Bourne reveals how healthcare organisations are utilising mobile devices
- Findings show mobile device usage is on the rise with 68% of UK public and private healthcare organisations implementing initiatives to improve patient care or facilitate efficiencies within care teams
- Findings show 48% utilising devices feel fully confident in their current management solution
- But 42% of UK respondents want to see enhanced security
- There is also appetite to expand its use to patients
New research has revealed that less than half of healthcare IT decision makers currently utilising devices are fully confident with their organisation’s mobile device management (MDM) solution.
The figure of just 48% is a significant drop from the 59% of healthcare IT decision makers who were polled as part of the research conducted by Vanson Bourne and Jamf in 2016.
A total of 600 global healthcare IT decision makers within both private and public healthcare organisations of all sizes in the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands and the US were interviewed to better understand the opportunities and challenges around mobile device management within the industry.
“Security breaches in general are growing exponentially in the healthcare industry,” said Joe Bloom, product manager at Jamf.
“As mobile device initiatives continue to become more widespread across healthcare organisations of all sizes, it is worrying that healthcare IT decision makers are becoming less confident in their mobile device management solution.
> As mobile device initiatives continue to become more widespread across healthcare organisations of all sizes, it is worrying that healthcare IT decision makers are becoming less confident in their mobile device management solution
“Hospitals and clinics need a robust and secure MDM offering that can empower caregiving staff to drive greater productivity that leads to higher patient satisfaction, to futureproof the industry.”
As confidential patient data is shared among caregiving staff and healthcare organisations on a regular basis, security is undoubtedly a key priority for healthcare organisations.
However, 95% of healthcare IT decision makers believe their current MDM solution could be improved.
In addition, 31% of respondents who are not implementing a mobile device initiative are avoiding this because of their concerns around their ability to meet the security requirements.
And confidence levels in healthcare organisation’s MDM solutions is at an all-time low.
Less than half of healthcare IT decision makers (48%) utilising devices already reported they are fully confident in their MDM solution.
Increased adoption
When asked about their challenges around MDM solution implementation, data privacy (54%), security/compliance (51%), and/or regularly patching software (40%) were highlighted to be the key focus areas.
According to the research, the adoption of mobile devices in healthcare organisations is set to increase in the near future.
For those currently, or planning to implement a mobile device initiative, mobile devices are, or will, be common in nurse’s stations (72%), administrative offices (63%), and patient rooms (56%).
To continue enjoying these benefits, it’s critical that staff and patient mobile devices are managed with a robust MDM solution which gives the organisations peace of mind in knowing that devices are secure and that confidential data is protected
However, over half of all respondents believed mobile device usage will further expand to both clinical care teams (59%) and administration staff (54%), and nearly half (47%) would increase the mobile device use for long-stay patients over the next two years.
The research highlighted a direct correlation between mobile device deployment and patient satisfaction, showing that the influx of mobile devices is having a positive impact on experience. In fact, 96% of healthcare IT decision makers in organisations that have implemented a mobile device initiative have seen a positive impact on patient experience and satisfaction scores. In particular, 32% commented that scores have risen dramatically.
Public-sector healthcare organisations (39%) experienced a significant jump in patient experience scores, closely followed by private healthcare (29%).
However, there is a systematic disconnect within healthcare organisations, as only 12% believe that increased patient satisfaction would be one of the potential benefits that would make their organisations implement a mobile device initiative.
“It’s critical for healthcare organisations to tap into a third-party MDM solution that goes beyond configuration profiles, use policies and scripts to customise devices for optimal user experience,” said Bloom.
“This will enable greater flexibility for caregiving staff that would ultimately lead to better patient experience.”
Dave Alampi, chief medical officer at Jamf, added: “Mobile devices have the potential to revolutionise the delivery of healthcare.
“Some organisations are already tapping into and enjoying the multitude of benefits that devices like iPhones and iPads afford both staff and patients.
“To continue enjoying these benefits, it’s critical that staff and patient mobile devices are managed with a robust MDM solution which gives the organisations peace of mind in knowing that devices are secure and that confidential data is protected.”