At the Becker's Hospital Review Annual CIO and CEO Roundtables in Chicago, Nov. 4 and 5, Steven Steinhubl, MD, director of digital medicine, Scripps Translational Science Institute in La Jolla, Calif.; Tom Barnett, vice president, health information technology at Evanston, Ill.-based NorthShore University HealthSystem; Brian Edds, vice president of product strategy, Spok; and John J. Hendricks, vice president and chief technology officer at West Des Moines, Iowa-based UnityPoint Health, discussed mobile health, what their organizations have invested in and where they see the biggest opportunities in the future.
According to Mr. Hendricks, at UnityPoint Health, steps are being taken slowly, but surely, to integrate mobile technology to improve physician and patient satisfaction as well as engagement. For example, physicians wanted to be able to communicate with each other more easily, and hence wanted to be able to text each other. The health system worked with the physician community to implement technologies that ensure the secure communication between physicians. "Thus, we are approaching mobile health with cautiously open arms," said Mr. Hendricks. "The challenge with mobile technology and applications, however, is that they lose their flavor very quickly. This is not just a problem with mHealth, but with mobile apps in general. We need to figure out a way to keep patient engaged with mobile health technology, and thereby, with their health."
Patient engagement is a main use of mobile technology, said Mr. Barnett. The ability to read data regarding one's health and even see early predictors of disease, and ultimately, the ability to manage one's care in a cost-effective manner is what mHealth will be able to promise patients in the near future, and therein lays the appeal. "In my opinion, apps and devices are going to become as prescribable as medications are," he said. "The data coming out of those devices will help engage patients in their own care."
However, despite health IT moving forward in leaps and bounds, in general, most healthcare organizations are in the early adopter phase when it comes to mHealth. "Organizations are still early in developing a mobile strategy," he said. "They are still grappling with questions like, who will buy the device? The hospital? The IT department? And also who will support these gadgets from a network standpoint? So healthcare organizations need to develop a formal mobile strategy."
"Mobile health technology is both a huge challenge and a huge opportunity," said Dr. Steinhubl. "It truly is about redesigning systems of care." Until recently, the healthcare system has been built around the fee-for-service model, where physicians have to see patients every 10 minutes. But, according to Dr. Steinhubl, by overhauling the system and implementing technology, the physician can start playing the role of an educator and a synthesizer of data. "Under a value-driven, technology-based healthcare system, the physician may see fewer patients for a longer periods of time. But it will be the patients who need to be seen. I'm a huge believer that mobile technology is going to be the future of healthcare."