New UK charity d4, which aims to improve patient care by getting healthcare professionals to use mobile technology, has published research that shows how mobile devices are increasing productivity in clinical practice and patient care.
It says 80% of UK registered health professionals rely on a mobile phone at work for a range of purposes. Perhaps obviously, the main reason is for communicating with colleagues (82%), although accessing information on the intranet/internet comes second at 46%. However, only 8% of respondents were compensated for the costs of using their own mobile technology for work.
d4 estimates that poor communication costs NHS hospitals in England over £1 billion.
Professor Michael Orme, Chairman and Senior Medical Trustee of d4, said “We know that the ability to share information and ideas quickly is a cornerstone of modern medicine, but the problem is that the cost of mobile technology use within the NHS is largely borne by the individual. Health professionals should be supported to use innovative, cost-effective technologies to help deliver improved patient care.”
The research was published as d4 announced a partnership with mobile health app store Happtique. The joint d4.Happtique project – due to become available next month – will make it easier for UK health professionals to discover and use healthcare apps. It’ll be available via the Web or through a dedicated d4.Happtique app.
[PDF survey]