Clinician Impact

5 Reasons Physicians Require Secure Messaging Apps Integrate With EHRs

July 11, 2014 | Stuart Hochron

There has been much discussion surrounding the benefits and frustrations physicians are facing with EHRs and other more established health information systems. However, little attention has been given to physician satisfaction with mHealth applications for secure messaging and coordinated care.

Applying the findings of extensive physician surveying on satisfaction with EMR systems,  it’s clear that mHealth applications for coordinated care inherently amplify many benefits of EMRs. We’ve identified 5 key advantages that mHealth apps for coordinated care provide to physicians when integrated with EMRs:
 

1. mHealth apps for coordinated care empower physicians when integrated with the EMRs

In order for a secure messaging application to fully serve the needs of a physician, it must integrate with the current health information networks of the care community. By providing a single interface for physicians to manage data from previously silo-ed data streams, secure messaging and other apps for coordinated care empower physicians to more efficiently balance the needs of patients with daily data management.

 

2. mHealth apps for coordinated care help physicians combat patient data overload

Automated alerts delivered from EMR systems are proving time consuming for physicians to manage, and worse threaten physicians’ ability to speedily identify abnormalities with patients and mandate care.

Secure texting applications enable physicians to more speedily filter through the automated data alerts of EMR systems anyplace, anytime.

 

3. Secure messaging apps facilitate communication between physicians and their care teams

Physicians and their care teams can quickly access lab results and other patient data critical to making informed decisions whether engaging in face to face, voice or text messaging based communication at disparate locations.

 

4. mHealth apps for coordinated care alleviate the responsibility of physicians to engage in data entry

Nurses and other clinicians supporting physicians can create or edit notes on patients, lifting a significant portion of the burden placed on physicians to input data into the EMR themselves. This centrally stored, collaborative note-taking system provides a solid base of information that physicians can expand upon rather than build from scratch.

 

5. Mobile interfaces are more suitable for physicians’ clinical workflows

Large computer screens conflict with the physicians’ need to engage in patient observation, leading many to abandon their attempts to record patient notes while completing rounds. Mobile devices by sheer design better serve physicians with their less imposing size and smaller screens. They also allow physicians who more drastically feel that technology can serve as a barrier while with patients to quickly record their notes when circulating between patients.

mHealth apps should make it easy for physicians to quickly record patient notes with a few clicks. When judging the physician friendliness of a secure texting application, it will be critical for IT members to test how many screens a physician must go through in order to enter patient notes and complete other common tasks in a time saving manner.

 

Could your physicians benefit from having a mHealth solution that enhances their usage of EMRs? Learn more about a mobile solution for coordinated care an HIPAA compliance that can unlock the value of your EMR system.

 

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