We all over the past several years have become enamored with our smart phone; it is like our third hand and second brain. Because of the user interface and that BYOD (bring your own device), it has made logical sense to use this in the healthcare domain. While practical to use from the carrier perspective; there are some significant limitations for actual clinical use. These limitations can be summed up in several areas.
The Radio
All smart phones were designed primarily from a user interface perspective with the primary connectivity model to the carrier of choice. While these phones also have BTLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) and WLAN (Wireless LAN), the WLAN radio it is not enterprise grade. The primary use model is cellular versus WLAN, as the WLAN radio was designed to connect to ad hoc networks, i.e. home or coffee shop. The challenge becomes when the phone becomes connected to the enterprise WLAN and authenticated that roaming occurs. In the case of using the device for voice over IP, you need a RSSI of at least -65dBm and a CCI of less than 2%. More than often the WLAN network connection drops because of the roaming algorithms in the smart phone just do not work effectively, if at all. Trying remedy the situation by adding more WLAN AP(s) only raises the noise floor. Not wise. The reality is the poor WLAN radio put into smart phones as an afterthought.
The Battery
Most smart phones today are moving toward an integrated battery. The challenge of using WLAN with a portable device like a smart phone is the radio is power hungry. Ideally the clinician, desires to use the mobile phone throughout an entire shift. If for example the battery is getting low, you should have the ability to “hot swap” batteries and maintain the same application session. However, now that we have non-replaceable batteries, the only way to provide extra power is to use a “sled with another battery”. Now the challenge becomes charging and maintaining two batteries and two pieces of equipment. Does not make a lot of sense.
The “non-rugged” nature of the consumer phone
Consumer smart phones have all kinds of sleds and overlays that you can to make them more rugged; but in general nature they are delicate and if dropped the screen will crack or the case will break. If then tend to be dropped in water or sprayed down with disinfectants, water will ingress and the plastics will crack.
The Lack of a Bar Code Scanner
Having a mobile computer with an integrated bar code scanner, eases the clinician’s job versus have to use a tethered bar code scanner to the laptop. However, the smart phones of today require a separate sled (with a battery and the CCD camera for bar code recognition)
Bottom line, a smart consumer phone simply does not work in the enterprise! It is like using a high-end sports car to pull a horse trailer.