Mobile Health Care Workers Experience Disconnect with Technology

Mobile health care workers report being less than satisfied with devices, data and patient information systems they’re using. That’s according to a recent mobile health care worker study from SOTI. And, many field health care workers report device, data or system failures in the course of doing their jobs.

The new report – Critical Technology for Critical Care: The State of Mobility in Healthcare 2020/2021 – paints a picture of a system not fulfilling its potential for ease of use, improved productivity and better  delivery of health care.

The study, conducted during the pandemic, was designed to find out how effectively frontline health care professionals work with devices, data and patient information systems, and assess their satisfaction.

Not So Effective

SOTI, a provider of mobile and IoT management solutions, commissioned Arlington Research to conduct the study. The agency conducted 475 online interviews with home care workers, visiting nurses and nurses in the field (both private and public). Arlington collected data between Sept. 28 and Oct. 7. The global study queried health care workers in seven countries – the U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Sweden and Australia.

SOTI’s Shash Anand

“Mobile technology has never been more business critical in the health care industry than it is today. For years, we at SOTI have been helping equip health care organizations with reliable and efficient digital technology needed to better serve patient needs. This pandemic has only heightened the major gaps in organizations that have not prioritized integrated mobile technology solutions,” said Shash Anand, vice president of product strategy at SOTI. “Implementing mobile technology solutions provides health care workers with a seamless, safer and faster patient experience and equips them with the tools needed to provide critical care.”

The use of devices and patient information systems was widespread among users. Most staff had access to at least one connected mobile device or computer. Despite device access, health care workers report that when initially collecting patient data, between 26% and 39% use paper and pen or manual processes.

Additionally, less than one in four access general medical information through their mobile device. Furthermore, just 18% access patient-specific data, such as test results, through their mobile device.

Other Findings

• Sixty-three percent of respondents experience a mobile device or system failure every week.
• On average, respondents spend five hours a week fixing technical problems.
• Fifty-six percent of frontline workers’ time is spent accessing and updating patient records.
• Eighty-one percent said they sometimes have issues with systems they use to care for patients.
• One-half (50%) don’t have access to tech support or apps to fix their devices.
• Between 32 and 40% report that information for any given patient is not available in a single place.
• Forty-two percent said that data and patient information systems are not well integrated.
• Seventy percent said that the online systems they use do not run on their mobile device.

About one-third of survey respondents said their employees introduced new systems and technologies to help cope with the pandemic. Also, close to one in five said that existing systems had been unable to cope. Another 50% of respondents said that the pandemic significantly impacted the systems and technologies they use at work.

Fifty-four percent of frontline health care workers said using the technology their employers provide wastes time that could be better used helping patients.