UNTIL now, innovation within healthcare has been most commonly attributed to breakthroughs in medicine and symptomatic therapies. However a new type of technical innovation, which instead streamlines processes and automates medical procedures, is reshaping the sector globally.
SA, too, can benefit greatly, given the proven advantages in terms of cost savings and intelligent resource allocation.
Strategic integration is a key attribute of successful mobility - it promotes the idea that a connected workforce and organisational function, both of which capitalise on end-to-end mobility, simply make business sense. This point has indeed been proven throughout Europe and the US, where enterprise mobility - the term used to describe this fully integrated and intelligent concept - has literally revived companies from as diverse industries as retail, manufacturing and security to finance and healthcare.
Put simply, enterprise mobility has the ability to mobilise a workforce and ensure that it is connected from the shop floor to the boardroom. Companies experiencing common problems such as loss of profits from poor financial management or inaccurate stocktaking systems, or loss of customers due to poor customer service, to name a few, would do well to consider a rugged mobile enterprise solution that provides quick and measurable return on investment by improving productivity and profitability.
While the cellphone has until now been largely used for an individual's needs, enterprise mobility provides limitless potential for other devices performing customer-facing functions that are integrated with a company's IT system.
Looking at the local situation, SA's healthcare sector is in desperate need of improved communications and stronger partnerships between its numerous entities. Local healthcare departments, pharmacies, GPs and medical facilities should be on a shared system that would, as just one example, enable more efficient, accurate distribution and dispensing of medicines.
The local healthcare landscape is a particularly volatile one with the sector frequently under the media spotlight. Criticism is often levied at underperforming medical facilities and those at the mercy of human error. Mobility can play a huge role here - potentially improving efficiency and reducing costs.
The applications within the healthcare arena are plentiful and include the following:
• There is a global move to reduce the historical focus on paper-based documents and instead digitise data. Within the medical profession, healthcare providers can ensure a more efficient and accurate system in place, while also allowing care givers to spend more time with the patient.
• The electronic prescribing of medication is inevitable in the not too distant future, with a patient's history and notes being automised. The benefits include the ability to identify allergies, minimise errors and heighten security. In this way communication is also quickened, with prescriptions in the future going straight from the GP to the pharmacist.
• Automating systems provide options for more frequent training for personnel. With SA's high reported turnover of healthcare staff, in part due to attractive employment options for medical staff elsewhere in the world, training must be effective and simple. Local staff are also quick to seize overseas opportunities due to low staff morale, poorly equipped medical facilities and understaffed shifts. Enterprise mobility can go a long way towards alleviating some of these issues.
• Improving patient safety and speeding up diagnosis will encourage confidence in the healthcare practice and an improved patient experience.
• Finally, infection control through tracking and management would also ensure distinct benefits during virus outbreaks such as the global swine flu epidemic last year.
Smart operational decisions that look to immediate and future efficiencies and cost savings are what the healthcare sector needs. As an example, the effective tracking of medical equipment - which is often uninsured or uninsurable - can offer significant savings to the industry.
There are so many more exciting opportunities for this sector, all of which will ultimately make for a vastly improved patient experience.
While the costs associated with fully embracing enterprise mobility need to be considered, the long-term costs of ignoring it will undoubtedly be far greater.
Companies that choose to disregard it simply won't be able to compete with companies that are increasing operational efficiencies, opening up additional revenue streams and acquiring and maintaining customers due to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
As government ministers grapple with numerous healthcare issues in this country, the fact remains that at least some of these can be eased and even solved by effective mobile solutions. Improving efficiency and also reducing unnecessary costs within this sector are the ultimate goals, and these can be achieved through the implementation of a tailored and scalable solution.
Caroline Scofield is an IBM mobile specialist and spokesperson for the Enterprise Mobility Tri-Alliance (IBM, Motorola and Zebra Technologies)
Caroline Scofield: Health News Supplement: Business Day, 17 February 2010
