It’s a mobile world. Smartphones and data plans are everywhere, giving more people instant access to information they need or want. With this trend, comes the growing popularity and use of mobile health technology, for just about everyone across the care continuum.
Patients are getting access to their health information on their phones via
patient portals securely accessible on the Internet. They are also using apps that give them feedback about aspects of their physical condition. Physicians are providing consultation via smartphones and tablets, and renewing patient prescriptions while at the grocery store. Mobile health technology is making health care more accessible and more flexible, is putting more power into the hands of patients, and is contributing to greater efficiency at medical practices.
With mobile health technology, providers can complete the following tasks from just about anywhere:
- Close encounters, enabling an efficient practice workflow efficient without having to stay after hours in the office
- Respond to patient messages at their own pace, avoiding the inefficiency of those “one more question” phone calls
- View patient encounters and records, and respond immediately to dire needs
- Write urgent prescriptions for patients who neglected to renew critical medications
- Access clinical advice from diagnostic and drug databases
Patients can use the mobile health technology of a practice’s patient portal to:
- Make or reschedule appointments (instead of calling the office)
- Communicate with doctors via secure messaging rather than phone calls
- Check lab results securely
- Pay bills online, conveniently
- Change profile information
- View preventative health information conveniently online, instead of getting it on paper from the office
It’s obvious from the lists above that when both providers and patients use mobile health technology regularly, medical practices can realize all-new benefits and conveniences, achieving real time and cost savings and improving physician satisfaction.
