There is a reasonably interesting story in American Medical News today about physicians' increasing use of smartphones, and that trend's implications for health information technology policy. Although the piece relies heavily on a recent survey from Spyglass Consulting Group, the piece cites a source who suggests just how fast smartphone adoption is taking place in comparison to the IT infrastructure designed to support physicians:
George "Buddy" Hickman, executive vice president and chief information officer at Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center, recently surveyed fellow members of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives on smartphone use. Of the 52 hospitals that responded to his survey, only 18 said they allow smartphones to access the hospitals' EMRs and other clinical tools.
Even those facilities that support smartphones have their limits. For example, only six of the 18 hospitals in Hickman's survey that support smartphones support more than one device, which poses a problem because physicians are not settled on just one.
Previously: Study finds more doctors are using smartphones and Do mobile apps for physicians actually help them?
Via @Ahier
