As physicians seek more efficient ways of accessing and managing clinical information, they are relying more and more on mobile technologies to increase patient safety and improve productivity. According to Manhattan Research, the number of physicians who owned smartphones in 2009 was 64 percent, and that number is expected to reach 81 percent by 2012. And, of those physicians who own smartphones, a recent study by the Spyglass Consulting Group revealed that 94 percent are using the devices to communicate, manage personal and business workflows, and access medical information. Capitalizing on this trend, healthcare technology providers have been steadily introducing mobile applications to help physicians more effectively manage their day-to-day operations.

In particular, a growing number of hospitals and laboratories are implementing mobile clinical results reporting applications. These applications, which have been developed to alert physicians via their smartphones when laboratory, pathology and radiology results are available, facilitate notification of patients regarding their test results and expedite clinical care decisions. Since physicians don't need a computer to access results information, they can view the results immediately and then contact patients or other care providers regarding next steps. This ability to quickly access critical data ultimately leads to improved outcomes, reduced cost and increased physician satisfaction.

For many physicians, the large volume of daily communications that they receive from their colleagues and patients can be overwhelming. As a result, critical communications may inadvertently go unnoticed. Mobile results reporting applications help to alleviate information overload by enabling physicians to set up results delivery according to their individual preferences and eliminate unnecessary, "nuisance" alerts. For example, depending on their needs, physicians may choose to receive all lab results, or they may opt to see only results with abnormal values or those results specifically requested by a patient.

In addition, some mobile results reporting applications are able to deliver critical value alerts from the hospital or laboratory information system directly to a physician's smartphone. In cases where the physician cannot be immediately reached, these applications can be configured to automatically send alerts to alternative physicians, nurses or other designated contacts, such as a call center. Once an alert has been received, an automated acknowledgment of message receipt can be routed back to the host health information or laboratory information system -- closing the loop on the notification process. Furthermore, documentation of physician acknowledgment of receipt can be tied back to an organization's EMR system.

This failsafe process helps avoid the errors that can occur with manual tracking of alerts and significantly improves panic alert response time, resulting in increased patient safety and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment compliance. In addition, laboratories are able to instill confidence in their physician customers that they are deploying the fastest results delivery technology possible, helping to increase physician satisfaction. And, since the need for multiple phone calls and voice messages is eliminated, medical technologists and physicians can be more productive and can spend more time focusing on what matters most -- delivering quality care.

Jerry Baker is chief executive officer of Halfpenny Technologies, Inc., a health information exchange solutions provider specializing in laboratory, pathology and physician electronic medical record system interoperability.He can be reached at jbaker@halfpenny.com.