Majority of patients prefer physicians who use mobile apps because of the convenience, but the security of these apps still concerns many
We often use apps to order food or sell clothes, why not learn our lab test results from our physician’s office from an app too?
Recently, we came across an article by Nathan Eddy that discusses the results of a survey conducted to determine patients’ feelings towards using mobile apps in physicians offices. SOTI, a proven leader in specializing and innovating in the mobile device management business, conducted this survey. The respondents of this survey consisted of 550 U.S. consumers.
“This survey reinforces the fact that mobility is modernizing patient experiences and enabling the future of healthcare,” stated SOTI’s Vice President of Enterprise Mobility Ryan Webber. “There are endless possibilities to leverage a diverse range of mobile and IoT devices to reinvent healthcare and improve patient follow-up rates, reduce physician wait times, and enable a faster and more efficient experience for patients.”
As it already occurred in many other industries, it is no surprise that the healthcare industry is undergoing a digital transformation. One sector of this digital transformation includes physicians offering the use of mobile apps to their patients. The patients can use these apps for things like scheduling their appointments, accessing their healthcare information or learning the results of a lab test all on their mobile device.
According to this survey, a majority of U.S. physicians (57 percent) offer their patients a mobile app. A lot of the respondents of this survey preferred physicians’ use of mobile apps, three-quarters of them said physicians who offered mobile apps provided a more convenient experience. 54 percent of the respondents disclosed that physicians who take advantage of mobile technology cut down the time wasted waiting in or contacting a physician’s offices. 57 percent indicated that they preferred to use a mobile app rather than call a physician office directly.
Even though the survey results point out the benefits of a physician offering mobile apps, they also emphasize patient concerns over the security of these apps. 4 in 10 respondents disclosed that they “were very concerned” over the possibility of security breaches in their confidential healthcare information. 80 percent of the surveyed patients stated that the physician should take the responsibility of keeping security standards high.
Leading tech companies are pushing more and more for the use of health apps. This past April, Apple announced its Apple Health Records app was available to patients at 100 CHS-affiliated hospitals.
The digital transformation of the healthcare industry suggests that the trend of physicians offering mobile apps to patients will broaden.