2012 Healthcare Mobility Trends

Mobility trends in healthcare have quickly become a widely discussed topic for medical device manufacturers and healthcare providers. Wi-Fi® infrastructure provider Aruba Networks recently conducted a survey that focused on the networking priorities of healthcare information technology professionals. The survey results, which reflected responses from more than 130 individuals, demonstrated that hospitals are embracing the “bring your own device” (BYOD) trend but with varying levels of access to business applications.

Here is a summary of the mobility trends  survey results:

• 62.1% of those surveyed are planning on refreshing or expanding their Wi-Fi Infrastructure in the next two years
• 85% allow physicians and staff to connect to the Wi-Fi network from their personal devices
• The top five most commonly supported mobile applications are:

1. Electronic medical records (EMRs)
2. Secure messaging
3. PACS (picture archiving and communication system), a medical imaging technology that provides economical storage of, and convenient access to, images from multiple modalities (source machine types)
4. CPOE (computerized physician order entry), a process of electronic entry of medical practitioner instructions for the treatment of patients
5. Voice communications

• 76% of the healthcare providers surveyed offer guest Wi-Fi access for patients and visitors
• 75% offer remote access to hospital applications and services from clinics, physician practices, etc.