A recent New York Times article highlighted the effect of increased technology on patient care. Unfortunately, it’s not all positive. According to the article, iPads, iPhones, computers and various other hospital technology are leading to some unfortunate patient malpractice. But for the channel, there’s a real opportunity to do some good, thanks to mobile device management and some basic smarts about the healthcare space.

If you thought texting and driving was bad, the New York Times article describes scenarios that are potentially life-threatening, including a distracted surgeon who left his patient half-paralyzed post-surgery because he made some hands-free business calls during the operation. The Times also reported of employees using hospital and med-school sanctioned tablets to check Facebook or shop on eBay while in the middle of patient-critical care.

It’s no secret that consumerization of IT and mobile device management practices go hand in hand. And like the Times article discusses, the healthcare industry is no exception. The horrifying prospect of losing life and limb to a distracted medical professional is, quite frankly, unacceptable. But realistically, this issue is a perfect example of where channel partners can capitalize. VARs and partners working in the MDM space have a unique opportunity to approach healthcare facilities with robust technology that allows filters, blocking capabilities, device restrictions and full device management across all hospital technology. It’s a win-win scenario: Hospitals can rest assured their healthcare workers cannot abuse device privileges, and the channel has an easy sell that could create substantial stickiness as more devices enter the healthcare ecosystem.

The convergence of mobility and vertical markets, especially the healthcare vertical, is inevitable. But this convergence is relatively new, (and growing, according to CompTIA) so it’s a perfect time for VARs to strike while the iron is hot. 2012 may be the year of MDM, cloud and the post-PC world, and 2013 could be the year where all the MDM tools and knowledge gained from the corporate world can meet up with more demanding vertical spaces.