Smartphones ring in the healthcare industry in 2008

Fred Beck By Patty Enrado, Editor

ORLANDO, Fla. — The market for smartphones will grow in 2008 and take the place of cell phones and PDAs in delivering clinical information, said Fred Beck, president of Opus Healthcare Solutions.

Smartphones merge the two technologies into one device, and the convenience of carrying one device will drive physician acceptance and adoption.

Beck isn’t the only one predicting this growth. A recent study by the Dallas-based Diffusion Group noted that smartphones will become essential weapons in the physician’s arsenal in the next few years. The study estimates that nearly 70 percent of active physicians will use smartphones by 2011, up from the approximately 49 percent of doctors that currently use the devices.

“The real advantage of the device is that it’s easy to use, has an intuitive interface and gives physicians the ability to drill down to what they want in limited real estate,” Beck said. “We’re going to see greater usage of bedside functionality with smartphones presenting data that’s succinct and easy to read.”

Beck believes that the Windows Mobile 5.0 and iPhone operating systems will prevail over the Palm operating system. While the user interface of Blackberry technology is great, it doesn’t support other applications as easily as Windows Mobile 5.0 and the iPhone.

The relaxation of the Stark law should bump up adoption, he predicted. By providing the application that runs on physicians’ smartphones, hospitals can give them access to their systems. Additionally, hospitals can retain and recruit key positions by providing this emerging technology.

Opus Healthcare recently launched its Mobility 2.0, which delivers wireless clinical information using the Windows Mobile 5 platform and is compatible with all major cell phone carriers.

Beta tested at the Corona Regional Medical Center in California for 12 months, the Opus Mobility system is currently being installed in five hospitals around the country.

Opus Healthcare Solutions will be demonstrating its Mobility 2.0 product on an hourly basis at their booth #1621.