Mobile Health Technology

It's worth noting that Mobile Health Technology is a rapidly evolving approach aimed at improving the quality of services provided and the effectiveness with which patients' medical records are stored and retrieved. Mobile devices, according to Jasmine Pennic, are becoming increasingly valuable for transforming home-based care nursing. The strategy aids in implementing a remote patient monitoring system, which allows a single healthcare professional to focus on other duties while still monitoring patients under his or her care.
Security of patient health information and privacy should be a top priority for any health care organization.

Notably, securing the patient health information and privacy should be the first priority for any health care professional. However, every technology has its shortcoming which in one way or the other undermines the use of the technology. The first challenge encountered when using mobile devices to store and retrieve patient health information is protecting the information from getting into the wrong hands. It is noted that the health care practitioner will have the freedom to use the device at any time and any place that he or she wishes to. However, this makes the device vulnerable to access by another person who may use the information for malicious reasons. Furthermore, there is also the risk of losing information that stored in the device. For instance, in the evident that the device is stolen or accidentally damaged, all or most of the information may not be retrievable. What that means is that a lot of important patient’s records may be lost in the process and this may affect patient care in the long run. (Total=267 words)

PART 2: RECOMMENDED BEST PRACTICES

To help protect patient information and maintain the confidence of the patient during care, there are numerous proposed strategies that can be used to ensure that the mobile devices used to access, transmit and receive patient information are protected at all times. The first method is to ensure that a unique password is used at all times to protect the device from unauthorized access (Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT). Secondly, the user can install or enable encryption tool so as to protect the mobile device. Furthermore, the user of the mobile device should disable or completely uninstall file sharing application. As a matter of fact, this also helps to protect the information from getting into the wrong hands especially if large files are involved. More so, it is important to follow the organization’s mobile devices policy and procedures at all times (Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT). In fact, this goes a long way to ensure that the user of the device is not liable to risks if there is a privacy breach. Still, the most effective and efficient way of protecting information in a mobile device from hacking is to install or enable firewall protection on the device. Notably, this should be updated as frequent as necessary to ensure the firewall protection is as effective as required.

Besides, George Hulme maintains that the key to creating and ensuring a safe and secure working environment for doctors using mobile technology is to install layers of security on the device. As a matter of fact, this helps the device to sustain repeated and attacks from possible hackers or malicious applications. (Total=273 words)





Works Cited

Hulme, George V. "Securing Mobile Health Records Remains a Significant Challenge". CSO Online, 24 Feb. 2016, www.csoonline.com/article/3034704/mobile-security/securing-mobile-health-records-remains-a-significant-challenge.html. Accessed 22 March 2017.

Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. "Worried About Using a Mobile Health Device for Work? Here's What to Do!" [Video File]. YouTube, 12 Dec. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz1ddGJn1PM. Accessed 22 March 2017.

Pennic, Jasmine. "How Mobile Devices Are Transforming Home Healthcare". HIT Consultant, 31 March 2016, http://hitconsultant.net/2016/03/31/mobile-devices-transforming-home-healthcare/. Accessed 22 March 2017.