Mobile Device Security and Patient Data

More and more physicians are using mobile devices, such as phones and tablets, to interact with patient data. Check out the below infographic from Skycure to see how doctors are using mobile devices, and what some of the risks of this usage might be. According to these figures, the number of physicians using mobile devices to manage inpatient data has increased from only 8 percent in 2013 to 70 percent in 2015. Similarly, 80 percent of doctors now use mobile devices in their day-to-day practice, and 28 percent have patient data stored on a mobile device.

Unfortunately, security may not be keeping pace with usage. For example, 14 percent of doctors have patient data on a mobile device with no passcode set up on it. Similarly, many doctors are using services like WhatsApp that may not be secure enough for sharing patient information. With more than 260 major healthcare data breaches occurring in 2015 (9 percent involving mobile devices) it is more important than ever for physicians to be aware of cyber security concerns when using mobile devices to interact with patient data.