Most physicians feel that tablet computers are better suited for care delivery than smartphones, according to a new survey of nearly 1,400 doctors. That said, app usage found most favor on smartphones – and docs feel there's much room for improvement in clinical apps generally.
Two reports from AmericanEHR Partners – a joint project of the American College of Physicians and Cientis Technologies – find that the most common activity of physicians who use EHRs and also use a smartphone or tablet is "sending and receiving emails."
Quelle surprise!
A close second, according to the studies, "Mobile Usage in the Medical Space 2013" and "Tablet Usage by Physicians 2013," is accessing EHRs, with 51 percent of docs saying they do so daily.
Among physicians who have a EHR, 75 percent use a smartphone and 33 percent use a tablet (just 7 percent of physicians surveyed use their smartphone to access EHRs) – but time spent on tablets is 66 percent higher than time spent on smartphones.
However, clinical apps usage in medical practices was much higher among smartphone users (51 percent daily) than tablet users (30 percent daily).
But both tablet and smart phone apps need to be better.
Only 28 percent of smartphone users and 18 percent of tablet users said they were 'very satisfied' with the quality of apps for their profession.
It’s time for developers to learn what physicians want and how they want it delivered -- and then deliver on the promise.
