MDM emerges as key concern in healthcare industry

As the healthcare industry is beginning to use more mobile technology to make advancements in the treatment and diagnosis of conditions, mobile device security concerns are spurring the industry to look into potential solutions.

Mobile computing is changing the way the healthcare industry operates, with the usage of smartphones and tablets becoming increasingly widespread. Being able to store data such as records and images is a valued convenience for healthcare providers, and being able to create, access and share information globally with other healthcare officials is almost certain to enhance patient care.

Tablets are being used more and more to provide healthcare officials with the best on-the-go computing resources, and are expected to be used by more than 50 percent of clinicians over the next 12 months, according to Healthcare IT News.

Apple tablets are the most popular in the American marketplace, with close to one out of every 300 Americans owning an iPad, according to Wired. Despite Apple's dominance of the mobile device industry, Android is starting to emerge as formidable competition.

"The gap with Android is closing," Steve Flammini, chief technology officer of Partners Healthcare, told InformationWeek. "Third party device makers are tightening up Android security to make it enterprise ready. Apple still dominates in the physician community, but we have some vocal doctors about [wanting support for] Android."

Although the promise of mobile devices is great, the sensitive information that healthcare providers deal with means strict handling of mobile devices is imperative, as patients are expecting an extremely high degree of care and privacy.

Despite the legitimate concerns surrounding mobile device security, mobile devices aren't necessarily any less secure than traditional PCs, and already are installed with considerable security capabilities upon purchase, according to Healthcare IT News. Some of the standard security measures include good password protection, remote wipe and powerful encryption.

Some healthcare experts argue that mobile devices are more secure than traditional desktop systems, which are often the target of hackers. That said, users of mobile devices for healthcare information are still sometimes hacked, especially if they do not follow security best practices and use simple passwords that are easy to guess, or do not have security applications activated when using their devices.

Although there may be disagreement as to the relative security of mobile devices, there is little argument that these devices need to be well-managed when they are used in a healthcare setting. To this end, experts suggest that healthcare organizations set clear guidelines for maintaining mobile security and consider third-party, cloud-based systems that boost security through such methods as enhanced user authentication.