Policy Plays Catch Up to Mobile Technology

Gallagher noted that organizations can save a tremendous amount of money using a BYOD approach, but they need get a handle on setting a usage policy and training end users accordingly. She noted that organizations can look in the HIMSS mHealth toolkit for sample user agreements by organizations that have been successful in this area.

Privacy and Security
DeLaRosa said that policies aren’t always in step with technologies in the industry, and many times there is a disconnect between policymakers and clinicians. He hoped the industry could come up with a set of standardized policies for organizations to then make their own. DeLaRosa’s organization uses multiple user prompts, which confirm that the clinician is accessing the correct patient file, before the clinician can access the patient’s information. Then, once the file is reviewed, it is audited with the ID of the clinician who accessed it.  

Tashjian advocated that clinicians shouldn’t be completely responsible for security, and the onus should be left to the vendors. He said he didn’t think it was safe to store information on the mobile device, and it was a reason his organization chose an application service provider (ASP) EHR.  His organization mandates users to sign a mobile agreement, have a passcode on their device, and perform a remote wiping if the device is lost or stolen.

Shaffer said her organization doesn’t trust the security of public Wi-Fi. It has policies to prohibit home care workers in the field from using public Wi-Fi to access patient records; however, she admits, it is difficult to monitor and enforce. Montfiore gives out Sprint wireless cards to employees, but even that is not always dependable to access wireless networks in particular remote or populated areas, she said. Security has to be at a software level to be truly reliable, she said.

“Where we really struggle is this mushrooming of opportunities that sits in front of us,” said Tashjian. “How do we choose the right one? How are we going to choose the ones that are actually going to help us, because we can’t afford to go down wrong road.”