Healthcare App Challenge Focuses on Patient Safety

by Holly Shoemaker

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information, part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, recently announced a new app challenge that focuses on patient safety and reporting.

                                               

The challenge came about from a 2011 report that asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to evaluate health and safety privacy concerns. The IOM concluded that accurate reporting of data depends on a number of factors such as the users, doctors, vendors and any other entity involved in reporting. The IOM recommended increased monitoring of IT health products and clearer reporting guidelines.

Concluding Thoughts

Reporting and privacy concerns continue to remain an issue as hospitals and doctors' offices transition from paper-based records to electronic ones. No standard format or platform exits to report patient information.

As I have mentioned before, app challenges offer ways for developers to get their ideas known. However, when it comes to medical apps, a more stringent development and testing process is typically needed, especially when dealing with privacy concerns. While the contest addresses a need, the reward may not be worth the cost to develop, test and market. Therefore, the developer who wins the contest will likely have a long lifecyle before the app goes live.

Do Smartphones and Medical Mobile Apps Cause Breach of Duty Violations?

by Holly Shoemaker

I came across an article published in the New York Times regarding how smartphones and mobile apps could become distracting to doctors. With studies showing more medical professionals will rely on smartphones and mobile apps this year, this point warrants more discussion. In particular, I wonder if apps and devices will cause physicians to violate their “breach of duty.”

Article Findings

Doctors and nurses admitted to spending more time looking at a screen rather than interacting with patients. A neurosurgeon admitted to making a personal call while operating on a patient. Half of the technicians surveyed said that while running bypass machines, they texted during the procedures.

Doctors Held to Higher Standards

I am not surprised by the findings. Distractions are not just an issue for doctors. If someone conducted the same type of study in a business setting, I think we would find more people admitting to using devices for non-work matters. At the same time, most of us do not have someone’s life in our hands.

Monitoring Patient Satisfaction

Some insurers use devices like iPads to assess patient satisfaction before patients take the step of suing physicians. Using mobile devices incorrectly could lead to an increase in lawsuits. I will elaborate on this point in an upcoming blog. Logically, if medical staff fail to provide patients the care owed to them, and patients have the ability to prove that, then devices could lead to careless mistakes.

Concluding Thoughts

The issue of distractions comes down to “breach of duty.” If a physician admits to making a personal call during surgery, a breach is made – the doctor has not upheld his/her duty to provide the best care to the patient. While no one has the ability to control everyone’s behavior, hospitals may provide clear guidelines regarding what could happen if staff members use tablets, medical mobile apps or smartphones in inappropriate ways.

Do Hospitals Stifle the Ability to Use Smartphones and Medical Apps?

by Holly Shoemaker

The answer to this headline will likely vary depending on who you ask. There are a number of factors to take into consideration. Many hospitals have already spent their budgets on developing computer-based record systems. That may leave them little room to take into consideration how budget constraints affect the technology needs of physicians affiliated with their hospitals. Many physicians, especially those not tied to working from one place, have increasingly relied on smartphones to provide patient updates. However, that has created additional questions – What smartphones do physicians and hospitals want? Will hospitals agree to provide smartphones over pagers?

Some of the answers to the above questions rely on looking at available surveys and other data regarding smartphone use by physicians. About 40 percent of ER physicians rely on some type of digital technology to assist them. However, doctors cannot agree on a phone preference – most surveyed use iPhones and then BlackBerrys. These two phones typically gain most mentions in reports. These preferences will continue to change overtime as we see more phones and tablets developed.

Concluding Thoughts

Hospitals will need to delegate more time in working with IT professionals to see how different types of smartphones may connect with electronic records and other clinical applications. Hospitals will also have to keep in mind that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is looking to regulate medical mobile apps used as devices. They will also have to take into consideration the preferences of their affiliated physicians. As doctors continue to spend less time making rounds, they will need reliable solutions that enable them to care for patients remotely.