Mobile trends in the EMR market

Why the need?

In the health industry, communication and efficiency are vital. A failure to communicate in a timely manner, in a thorough manner from provider to provider, or to communicate the correct information can mean the death of a patient, health complications that could have been avoided, lawsuits, and precious time lost. Lack of efficiency can result in drastic mistakes or oversights, wasted money for practices and hospitals, and poor patient turnaround, leaving other patients waiting too long to be seen and leaving patients unhappy with their care.

As EMR (Electronic Medical Record) solutions replace paper charts and forms, the potential for improvements in communication and efficiency is there, and doctors are seeking ways to make their chosen EMR system work for them.  Currently restricted to access/data entry from a desktop PC, many EMR users are seeing the need for increased mobility and instantaneous access to / communication with the EMR system that they use.  As this need becomes evident, it’s easy to see how the mobile trend that seems to overtake every market will spread also to the EMR world.

What’s out there?

Just because it’s not the standard, doesn’t mean it’s not out there.  Software makers and third party developers are already looking ahead, anticipating the need for a mobile solution to EMR systems as the number of EMR users increases dramatically due not only to the need for more efficient record-keeping in general, but also due to new government mandates and incentives pushing EMR solutions for all medical practices and hospitals.  EMR providers such as PracticeFusion,  Epic, and Greenway Medical focus on the Apple iOS platform, offering mobile access to clients for varying monthly subscription fees, often through secure remote access utilities like Citrix.  Though the direct window to the EMR system and its capabilities is hugely beneficial, once clients are ‘in’ to the system, the sophistication and simplicity that many users love about the iPad is lost, and for some HCPs, that’s a huge drawback.   There are native iPad apps that are, in themselves EMRs.  Though there aren’t a lot of these options out there just yet, apps like Dr. Chrono and Nimble can be attractive to those wanting to take full advantage of the iPad’s smooth functionality and interface. It’s a tradeoff, though, as current native iPad EMRs lack the complexity and functionality of more robust on-site EMRs.   Currently, the most popular solution seems to be web-based EMRs that allow access from any web-enabled device.  Most EMR providers have some sort of web-enabled or mobile optimized access as an option to their users.  This is a start, though can pose problems as it depends on a secure internet connection.  Without internet connectivity, access to the records are usually limited if not completely restricted.

What’s not out there yet?

Out of all these options, what HCPs need that doesn’t seem to be out there yet are client server-based systems that work as a native application to the tablet operating system, whether that’s Apple, Android, or Windows based tablets, that also allow complete mobile access to the EMR system that the client has chosen.  Many HCPs have already invested anywhere from thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars in their current EMR system, and are eagerly awaiting a sophisticated mobile solution.