The goal of this paper is to study the use of mobile devices in health care sector. Mobile technology helps to swiftly access information, help in patient safety, reduce cost and improve workflow to make efficient decisions. Mobile Devices provide remote access, portability, and connectivity which was not available in traditional computers. Mobile devices can be used in various forms like SMS alerts and reminder, use of RFID to decrease medical errors, manage assets and patients, identification of medical apparatus and drug recognition etc.
Introduction
Mobile devices have removed the restriction of unchanged locations and allow users to interact with ease and flexibility to exchange information and services. Mobile devices are being utilized in various ways in private and community life due to its unique qualities like portability, storage, communication and connectivity. Mobile devices examples are mobile phone, personal digital assistants, laptops, pagers, tablet PCs and others like (RFIDs). Most of these devices are handheld. These devices can be used in various fields like education, health and commerce. In this paper we will study the use of mobile devices in healthcare sector.
Healthcare is a mobile profession and mobile device has a great application in it. Cell phones are used to communicate with patients for reminders, monitoring, and lab results. PDAs, laptops, and tablet PCs are wireless, and portable to be brought to patient's bedside. RFIDs are being used for monitoring patients and medical equipment. Mobile devices reduce medical error as a result enhances patient safety.
Scope of this paper
The scope of this paper is to explore the use of mobile devices in healthcare sector. Different size and form of mobile devices are considered here like laptops, tablet PCs, PDAs, mobile phones, and RFIDs.
Problem Statement
Study, analyze, and evaluate different types of mobile devices and identify the application of these devices in healthcare sector.
The healthcare sector
Healthcare consists of various sectors (primary, secondary, and community) that need to be recognized and incorporated to put into practice any opportunity derived from the mobile devices application. The above mentioned sectors will be explained below:-
Primary sector
Primary healthcare is a place where an individual, community, or family arrives to get health services. Its purpose is to improve the health of people in community by providing health education, disease prevention and counseling.
Secondary sector
Secondary healthcare refer to hospital based services. Primary healthcare refers patient to hospital. Primary and secondary healthcares are linked together. Due to this linkage information sharing and collaboration among these sectors is possible. A care provider has electronic access to appropriate information. Patient receives medical treatment suitable to his health based on this exchanged information. Doctors will make more informed decisions at the hospital as patient info will be easily accessible.
Community sector
Community sector covers various collaborative services and support to improve healthcare in community. Examples of community driven projects are anti smoking and alcohol, injury prevention, and drink driving. Community providers have less info systems capacity, and less number of persons to provide healthcare service. They require better information about the person who is under supervision and capable of sharing this info when refer patients to other services like hospital.
Mobile devices and their applications
Mobile devices and its general application will be discussed below:
Types of mobile devices
Mobile devices which are under consideration are of four types: cellular phones (mobile phones), smart phones, unintelligent gadgets, and devices with operating systems. Sensors and RFID tags are called unintelligent gadgets which have little or no processing power. Cellular phones have voice technology, short messages services, wireless internet facility, and WAP. Smart phones have voice and data technology. They have operating system which allows them to operate a range of application. These devices appear in a combination of cell phones and PDA. PDAs, laptops, and tablet PCs are the devices with operating systems. These devices use wireless LAN for communication.
Laptop computers
Laptop computers are one of the most comprehensive in available portable devices. These are similar to desktop computers but provide portability. Mobile persons use laptops instead of desktops. Laptops are not suitable for highly mobile workers like it is not practical for a doctor to use it during hospital round. Some doctors use PDAs to access their desktop but some do rely on laptops due to its higher processing speed and display.
Tablet PC
Tablet PCs are quite similar to laptops with difference is the screen is on the outside of device instead on the inside. It uses pen and touch display to interact in pen driven style. Tablet PCs have distinguished features like handwriting recognition and voice to text conversation. It is difficult to edit extensive document by using Tablet PCs.
Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
PDA is a handheld, compact, and light weight device. It also has interface to get input by using pen stylus. It provides computing facility, network features, and wireless internet access. It plays audio and video files and can edit text documents, emails, and can send SMS. PDA plays important role in healthcare organizations and it contributes a lot to enhance healthcare practice. Due to its portability and convenience it is popular in healthcare professionals. About 60 % physicians in US use PDAs.
Smart phone
Smart phone is a voice communication device along with some other features. It has telephone features with data facility. It supports calendar, text messages, address book, PC synchronization, wireless Internet connectivity, memo and sketchpad. It plays audio and video files and send IM and text messages. It can run application offline that's why user doesn't need to connect to network to perform tasks. It saves time and money.
Mobile phone
Cell phones are used for telephony and SMS. Basic features are WAP, contact management, SMS, and voice. Its advanced features are GPS, video calling, and MMS. Networking features like VPN are not available in it that's why it is not a reliable source for data access.
Radio frequency identification (RFID)
RFID is used in the form of RFID tag which can store information about a person or an object. RFID belongs to unintelligent gadgets of mobile devices because these have minimal or no processing power. Mostly its application is in asset tracking and inventory related systems. RFID tags provide remote and auto reading with no line of sight. It speeds up the traceability and handling of goods and material. It has three parts: RFID tag, transponder, and a reader. Transponder or RFID tag store data of object in RFID system. RFID can read and write data to a transponder.
Mobile device applications in healthcare
Healthcare sector has a number of challenges like increase in cost, lack of coverage in rural areas and medical errors. Information Technology can assist healthcare sector for efficient transfer of health related information services and cost effective decision support. IT reduces organization cost and help in improving quality of health services and patient care.
Networks improve communication among patients, doctors, and healthcare workers. With the help of this network accurate medical information can be delivered anywhere, anytime that's why it decrease errors and improve access. Efficient and powerful medical applications can be developed due to advanced medical devices.
Application of mobile devices in healthcare sector is divided into non-clinical and clinical applications. In each type the use of mobile devices i.e. laptops, RFIDs, PDAs, mobile phones, and others are discussed.
Clinical applications
Healthcare organizations are using mobile devices and protocols to retrieve and update patient info at the patient care center. Clinical applications facilitate the delivery of healthcare services to the patients.
Laptop and tablet PC
In ICUs laptops are being used in place of wired desktop computers. It has many benefits like increase efficiency as doctors have immediate access to diagnostic info, improve patient care, streamline workflows and perform complex computation at the patient's bedside. Patients and doctors get benefit from remote access to clinical record. Patient could update their personal medical history in central database of healthcare providers by using any mobile devices. During check up doctors by using laptops or tablet PCs can access the current patient info and can use decision support tool like drug reference. Doctors can update patient record at the bedside. Wireless protocol enables to submit and validate data to the central repository. Remote access reduce medical errors, administration overhead, and personnel time by reducing frequency of patient, doctors, or receptionist to enter incorrect data. It will make sure patient safety and care and increase revenue.
PDA and smart phone
PDAs are helpful in technology oriented areas like ICU where doctors required to perform complex computation. ICU may have high tech computerized system but doctors may still require written notes for patient management and medical calculations. Due to unique features of PDA doctors who are on the move in the hospital able to access and compute required info, to deliver hospital based clinical care to the patients.
It is possible to achieve Clinical decision support using PDAs when doctor meet patients. Doctors can access patient specific info, knowledge base, and reference tools. PDA facilitates doctors to get real time info access, lab results retrieval, and wireless access to internet resources. Doctors can use PDA to write prescription at a point of care, replace paper based prescription pad. Electronic prescription assist doctors to keep track what medicines patients are taking and reduce mistake in misread prescriptions and miscalculated dosages.
Mobile phone
Patients can get various benefits using cell phone features like voice calls, WAP, and SMS. There are many applications based on these features. Three types of benefits are obtained using SMS in healthcare: direct benefit to patients in terms of better health result and quality of service, efficient delivery of healthcare services, and public health benefit. Public health services are mainly non clinical applications.
Increased efficiency in healthcare services reduce the possibility that patient miss their scheduled appointment. Regular text message remind patient to attend their appointment. Where SMS has benefits it has also few drawbacks like it is not necessary that all the patients have mobile phones. Ability to send multiple customized SMS, broad availability of service and low cost make this a proper means of improving patient attendance.
Mobile phone work notably to develop those areas where communication between doctors and patient is important. Application that have benefit for patients include empowerment of patients, monitoring patients, improving adherence to health advice and medication protocols, distributing test results and provide psychological support to patients.
Radio frequency identification (RFID)
RFID has negligible presence in clinical applications.
Non clinical applications
Non-clinical applications refer to administrative and management functions e.g. billing, charge capture, and patient and asset tracking which support clinical services. Mobile technology facilitates health organizations to decrease administrative overheads and provide traceability throughout the supply chain.
Laptop and tablet PC
Laptops and tablet PCs have few applications in non clinical sector. These devices can be used in patient tracking and monitoring. A study performed at George Eliot hospital in UK, deploy a mobile portal to patient tracking application to provide wireless access to track patients and priorities their treatment in emergency. It gave interface to view radiology and pathology results. Tablets and laptops provided with wireless connectivity over a Wi-Fi wireless network. Laptops and tablet PCs were distributed to doctors and paramedical staff. These persons appreciated the considerable time savings through mobile access to real-time info.
PDA
PDAs assist doctors and patients in administrative support, education and research, professional activities, and documentation. Administrative activities are billing patients at point of care, scheduling tasks and appointment, capturing data on site for tracking and evaluating services and communication.
PDA supports various tasks by providing personal information management system to doctors, communication with hospital staff, and patient's data tracking. This device can serve as an effective educational and research support to both patient and doctors by giving electronic resource of patients and use it as a teaching instrument for doctors.
Mobile phone
Cell phones has SMS feature which can be used to provide psychological support, communication with patients, and advice. Its application is SMS driven drug identification service, medication remainders, booking service, health education, safety messages, and appointment reminder. Cell phones empower patients and improve adherence to health advice and medication is quite affordable, personalized, suitable for different groups, and not location dependent
Radio frequency identification (RFID)
RFID technology can be used in non clinical side of healthcare sector. By using this technology one can decrease overheads, speed critical treatment, improve patient safety and medical services. It applications are asset tracking, patient identification, supply chain, stock control and drug authenticity verification.
Asset tracking is necessary and RFID is a best solution for monitoring and tracking various assets in the hospital. It is difficult to locate those assets which are not stationary and on move on different location without RFID technology. Tracking system can be configured to display current location of equipment on desktop or laptop or PDA. .
Patients and doctors can be tracked using RFID enabled wristband. Staff member can get patient information such as patient illness detail, insurance policy information, and treatment history. The staff can instantly update after any treatment or diagnosis. RFID reader placed at key areas in hospital can capture patient location. If a patient by mistake travel to a wrong section, RFID alert doctor or staff member about the patient. Staff tracked is helpful in emergency calls, so doctor can be located instantly.
