Dignity Health is one of the five largest health systems in the U.S., with a presence in 17 states and expertise and services around a number of key specialties. In the Arizona service area, we’re widely known for our work in neurology and neurosurgery. And it’s been just within the last year or so that I’ve come to understand how mobile technology has the ability to improve and extend care so that more patients across our system can benefit from our services.

While Dignity Health offers its clinicians a range of useful IT solutions, we made it our goal to remove the gap that existed between where clinical data resides and how to deliver that data to the right clinician when they need it most. By doing so, we were able to eliminate a host of challenges for clinicians – most notably, the frustration around delays in getting the information we need to diagnose, treat and spend more time with patients. I’ve seen how a mobile-based solution that can pull data from any system can easily dissolve that gap, so physicians can make better decisions and ultimately provide better care wherever they are.

By enabling physicians to become truly mobile, our care teams can extend the delivery of our specialty care areas across facilities. With diagnostic quality data at their fingertips, our neurologists are able to easily consult and ultimately provide care anywhere in the Dignity Health network. As a result, more patients can get the highest level of specialty care and take advantage of our areas of expertise from across the Dignity system.

Mobilizing a clinical workforce can be challenging, but is a critical strategy for any health system looking to retain and grow both its patient and physician bases. Patients will be treated faster, more effectively, and safely, while greatly improving the physician’s quality of life – which now often extends across facilities and even state lines. Mobility is the lynchpin to bringing information to clinicians wherever they need it most and creating a truly integrated network of care.