Healthcare at home: Evolving from manual to mobile
Mobility and interoperability are crucial to the continued transition of extending healthcare services into patients’ homes. During this May 11 webinar, VITAS Healthcare, a leading provider in hospice and palliative care services, explained how the organization is using technology enabled by ServiceNow to build an industryleading mobility program, inclusive of end-to-end asset management that integrates mobile device management and carrier data back into a single repository.
1 Mobile devices present unique challenges for healthcare providers
VITAS Healthcare has a fleet of over 10,000 mobile devices used by staff as a clinical workstation while they care for patients in their homes. While the mobile devices are convenient, prior to ServiceNow, they caused issues for VITAS. It was hard to keep track of the devices, especially considering new hires, transfers and turnover among workers, leading to unnecessary spending. It was also difficult to manage the apps downloaded on the devices, which should abide by HIPAA privacy rules. VITAS began looking for a partner to help manage its mobile device program more effectively and selected ServiceNow.
2 Break down your mobilefirst strategy in three parts
To ensure your organization isn’t overwhelmed by transforming its mobile device program, break it down into three parts: carriers and service devices, technology management and business management. The most critical area to bring to the chief financial officer and board of your organization is the business management pillar, which demonstrates how the mobile device strategy is cost-effective. It’s crucial to track and easily present data on the costs and financial management of the program for leadership.
3 Invest in security features for the devices
There are mobile device management tools that enable providers to control all their mobile devices. For VITAS Healthcare, this allowed the organization to create a unique app store on its mobile devices with only apps available to download that have been approved by VITAS. It also enabled VITAS to enroll every device, requiring every user to have an active log in to use the device and wiping the device when the account is no longer active. This is helpful when turnover occurs. Investing in a mobile device management program is incredibly helpful to safeguard the security of patient health data on mobile devices.
4 Mobile devices used right can improve employee and patient experience
VITAS Healthcare provides comfort care for those at the end of their life. The last thing clinicians want is to be in front of a computer logging in data and manually charting when they can be interacting with the patient and their families at this time. Mobile devices that are intuitive and seamlessly integrated into the workflow allow clinicians to spend more time with their patients. Additionally, it helps that mobile devices are discreet and small, allowing staff to use them quickly and access them easily.
5 Real-time, integrated data is key for managers
One element of a mobile device strategy is offering a dashboard for managers that allows them to see in real-time the workflow of their staff, such as their current case mix and activity. This allows managers to delegate assignments and tasks easily. Additionally, the dashboard should have relevant data from many sources, including employee and patient data. This kind of integration is made possible and powerful by ServiceNow services.