Employers and employees have embraced the BYOD trend across a variety of industries as a way to accommodate welcomed changes to traditional employment models. The same is true of what has been one of the most traditional work models – medicine. In the last several years a new trend is emerging in healthcare. Fueled by changes in the professional landscape of medicine, as well as their own personal interests and desires, doctors are moving from the more traditional structure of private practice to one where they are an effective part of larger provider organizations.
Professionally, the administrative complexities in the bureaucracy of practicing medicine have been driving doctors out of the headache of private practice and in to the freedom of working for larger organizations of doctors. In addition, today, doctors, like so many employees, are looking to achieve greater balance between their professional and personal lives. Personally, doctors are pushing back on the idea that being committed to their patients comes at the expense of their own families and they need a practical solution that allows them to meet the demands of the profession, while managing the scope of their entire day.
Profession and preference have begun to dictate changes in how doctors work and they are in need of a solution that is seamless, efficient, practical, and accessible.
The multi-persona BYOD approach delivers on this. A persona is assigned to each facet of the practitioner‘s work – one for their work for a hospital, another for a clinic and finally one for their personal use. Each persona has the applicable security and privacy policies to comply with the employer. This way multiple employer policies can be enforced on a single device, without conflict. The practitioner can continue with their own use of the device, using their personal persona, and without subjecting their personal persona to the employer’s policies. In other words, the multi-persona strategy provides the construct to handle different use scenarios, or employers in this case, all on a single device.
So how does this architecture support how doctor’s work today?
Multi-Persona When Working for Multiple Institutions
Dr. Hawthorne is an Ear Nose and Throat specialist. For 3 out of the 5 regular work days he sees patients ranging from the age of infancy to the elderly in his office. For the other two days of the week he performs a variety of surgeries, of varying risk and complexity, at the local hospital. Working both at his clinic, and at the hospital, allows Dr. H to be a point of continuity for his patients, providing lifecycle coverage from diagnosis to remedy. While working both at his clinic and at the hospital Dr. H is subject to different mobile policies, reflecting each of the different institutions. Having a personal persona, and a clinic and hospital persona, allows him to comply with the policies of each while also maintaining his own unburdened personal use of the device. Having all of the necessary information and tools at his disposal, while complying with various policies, allows him to present continuous care for his patients and support them wherever in the lifecycle they may be.
Multi-Persona For Secure Access to Information
Dr. Ellis is an Integrative Physician. She elects not to participate with any insurance carrier but sees patients of all ages, and all ailments, that come from being previously treated at a variety of hospitals and doctors. She is the doctor patients turn to when the traditional routes of care have not provided the answers for which they are looking. However, although a patient may be new to Dr. Ellis, their medical history need not be. While in her office, Dr. Ellis is able to pull up the X-rays and blood test results of a new patient from 6 months ago, while the patient was not in Dr. Ellis’ care, but because Dr. Ellis has privileges at varying hospitals to do so. In order for Dr. Ellis to holistically treat her new patient she needs to be able to access all of the relevant health history information applicable. Here, again, the office and the hospitals, more than likely, have separate mobile policies, but when a doctor like Dr. Ellis has a device with a solution that allows the security and efficiency of multiple personas, Dr. Ellis has the ability to effectively treat her patient. There will be no need to repeat tests, or hypothesize results, when full access is made available.
Multi-Persona And Work/Life Balance
Dr. and Dr. McGinnis are married and have two pre-school aged girls. They each work for a practice of about 10 doctors who practice Family Medicine. While their girls are young they have each chosen to work a 4 day in-office work schedule, taking off different days, so that for 2 of the 5 day work week one of them can be with their daughters. Because Dr. and Dr. McGinnis, like most employees today, have a more fluid relationship between their professional and personal lives they need a device that brings them both together. On those days when they are at home, and they are able to carve out time for the playground, go to the grocery store and meet up for a playdate, they need a device that will allow them to stay connected to their patients and any emergencies that may arise while serving their personal needs as well and all with applying the right amount of security and privacy to protect their patients without burdening their personal experience on the device. Both Dr. and Dr. McGinnis are able to achieve greater work-life balance when using a practical solution that aligns with the way they actually work and live.
The landscape of medicine is changing, but we do not have to struggle to keep up. The patterns of a doctor’s work have changed in much the same way as that of a variety of industries. Doctors no longer want to be tied to the professional complexity and personal burden of one private office. What doctors need is a solution that allows for a good fit amongst themselves, their multiple places of practice and their patient’s quality of care. The practicality of the multi-persona solution is a winning ensemble.