Thanks to the proliferation of consumer mobile devices, bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies are quickly becoming present throughout most sectors of business. Healthcare is no exception.

As professionals look for ways to simplify their jobs and reduce the number of devices in their arsenal, they are increasingly pushing organizations toward a BYOD environment. When executed properly, BYOD lets staff access certain data from their personal devices while managing the security and compliance risks associated with this vertical. Yet it is still a challenging issue because it encompasses so many questions related to an organization’s costs, security risks, IT availability and the varying needs of different groups of staff.

Due to this particular trend, Spok recently surveyed more than 450 healthcare organizations about mobility, mobile access and the current state of BYOD. Important findings include:

  • The most commonly supported devices by organizations are smartphones (75 percent), in-house pagers (67 percent) and tablets (65 percent).
  • Tablet device use is up 12 percent from 2014, likely driven by EMR (electronic medical records) applications and shifting clinician preferences.
  • 73 percent of organizations allow some type of BYOD, down 15 percent from 2014. Spok believes this is due in part to the strict patient privacy laws and need for specialized devices in the healthcare environment, which may be why hospital-provided devices increased.
  • Physicians are driving the demand of BYOD, while nurses indicate different communication preferences.
  • 62 percent of those allowing BYOD cite data security as their primary challenge while 81 percent of those prohibiting BYOD cite data security as their primary reason for exclusion.
  • Only half (51 percent) of organizations allowing BYOD have a defined policy, and only a quarter (27 percent) of hospitals have a mobile device management (MDM) solution in place.

In summary, as this space continues to address shifting staff roles and evolving technology, the allowance of BYOD in healthcare is declining. In order to better meet the mobility challenges in this vertical, organizations may need to refocus and identify how to address top concerns while securing data and handling resource challenges.

One way to do so is through the use of an MDM platform paired with clear, precise policies and procedures. If your healthcare organization is interested in evaluating how to meet staff needs without putting its most critical asset — patient data — at risk, contact TechOrchard to schedule a mobility evaluation.