The demand for patient-centric tools to mobilize EMR and medical device data in a single viewer is obvious. All the major providers I talk to, including Dignity Health and Ardent Health, already have a plan to go mobile. But now it’s time to put practical plans in place to implement the strategy.

The best way to go mobile is to support all form factors. In parallel with mHealth implementation, providers should bring the look and feel (i.e. touchscreens) of mobile technologies to physicians’ desktops and laptops. After all, that’s what they are still primarily using when they are not on the go.

Compatibility with any mobile device is critical for a mobile strategy, especially given the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) demand we’re seeing from physicians. But what a lot of technology vendors are forgetting is that the same experience needs to occur on desktops and laptops. As physicians become accustomed to mobile capabilities that seamlessly aggregate clinically-relevant systems into one single view, they aren’t going to be satisfied with the old mouse and keyboard on their desktops.

It’s not enough to give physicians access to data on their smartphones if they still have to go back to the same frustrations when they login with their computers. They should have the same interaction no matter their location, and they shouldn’t have to learn to navigate different applications across desktops and devices. Achieving the full value of mobility requires that physicians have one unique, seamless view of data no matter where they are – which means making sure they have an extended version of that same view on their computer screens.

In the not-too-distant-future, physicians will be viewing data from any source in a single format, just like they would on their mobile device. They’ll be using a touchscreen desktop at home, in the office, by the bedside or on large, sharable screens as they discuss cases with the care coordination team. One dashboard will show medical device data in near real-time and fully-integrated EMR data with video conference capabilities – and all the other values offered by mobility will be present.

The availability of mobile capabilities on the desktop is going to drive sales of mobile applications, but more importantly, it’s going to enhance mobile utilization. The more applications become seamless, the more physicians will get used to utilizing those applications. By increasing adoption of mobility, physicians will provide higher quality, more efficient care and be able to meet the increasing industry demands put on them by the expanding care continuum.

I know mobility’s move to the desktop is going to be huge game changer because customers are already demanding it. Clients are telling me that now that they have data and vendor-agnostic mobile solutions, they’re looking ahead to the future – where the mobile experience is seamless regardless of where the physician is providing care.