Key Points
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- Mobile devices in healthcare affect patient care and employee productivity: Disruptions that could cause minor issues in an office can delay care, making availability and reliability in non-negotiable environments.
- Shared devices do not fit standard governance models: Most environment device policies assume that one user, one device. In healthcare, devices are tied to locations, passed between staff, and used across shifts, changing who is responsible and how policies apply.
- Security measures that slow down clinical staff are bypassed: If access controls add friction to time-sensitive work, staff will seek Governance needs to be enforceable without getting in the way of care.
- MSPs serving healthcare need to treat it as a different environment, not a stricter version of standard IT: The tools, policies, and ownership models that work elsewhere may not translate seamlessly to healthcare. Getting this wrong creates compliance gaps and operational risk.
Mobile devices in healthcare provide opportunities to increase the quality and efficiency of patient care. However, these devices and the increasingly diverse use cases they enable present unique challenges for the IT teams responsible for their governance. From clinical workflows to administrative tasks, there are an increasing number of unique risks that affect patient privacy and well-being, as well as the security, compliance, and operation of healthcare operators.
This guide explains how mobile devices are changing the healthcare IT landscape, and how governance needs to evolve to meet an environment that challenges traditional IT ownership models.
Mobile devices as part of clinical workflows
Mobile devices in healthcare support point-of-care access to clinical systems, enabling the swift and accurate dispensing of information and medication, as well as ready access to communication, monitoring, and collaboration tools. Disruption to these devices doesn’t just impact productivity (as it does in other general business scenarios) – it directly impacts the quality of care patients receive.
What makes healthcare mobile device governance different
Healthcare environments amplify existing mobile device governance concerns (centered on aligning IT with business goals and mitigating risk), while also introducing new complications. Organizations need to protect sensitive patient data while enabling streamlined, real-time, highly accurate workflows.
Primary challenges include:
- Devices are used in time-sensitive, high-pressure situations
- Multiple users may share the same devices
- Regulatory and privacy requirements (for example, HIPAA) are strict and non-negotiable
- Availability and convenience must be balanced with security and compliance
These factors change how devices must be governed compared with those of non-healthcare businesses.
The device governance questions introduced by healthcare challenges
The healthcare challenges above raise governance questions, such as who is responsible when a device is used across different roles and shifts, and how access control is enforced without introducing workflow friction. These governance questions are significant in healthcare settings, as service disruptions could delay the provision of urgent care.
Privacy is also a greater concern on shared devices that may be left in publicly accessible areas. The traditional assumptions often made about mobile devices, and the governance decisions informed by them – single-user phones or tablets with predictable usage patterns – fail to adequately address mobile device management requirements in healthcare.
Aligning IT governance in healthcare
Aligning IT processes with healthcare outcomes is complicated by shared devices and by questions of responsibility.
Healthcare devices are in continuous use, being shared by clinicians for diverse tasks including communication, remote collaboration on medical records, and time management. Devices are usually tied to a physical location (i.e., a specific ward or station) rather than to a specific user. This changes responsibility for the device and governance models.
Tech teams can use healthcare-compliant remote access to manage shared mobile devices, but on-the-ground responsibility must be clearly established to ensure sufficient oversight for every device. Ownership will depend on the device’s purpose and location, and every device must be readily available and in a state for immediate use.
Risk and compliance considerations
Shared devices introduce additional risk and compliance concerns. The protection of patient data is critical (and legally mandated) in healthcare, and must be recognized in all policies and processes that enable mobile devices to improve clinical efficiency. To this end, access controls must be enforced without creating roadblocks that delay care or prompting users to seek workarounds.
Common failure patterns in healthcare mobility, and how governance can solve them
Applying mobile device governance measures, controls, and technologies designed solely for office environments to healthcare leads to suboptimal outcomes. Mobile device management (MDM) platforms must be flexible rather than disrupt them. Documentation platforms can be leveraged to establish ownership of shared devices and ensure there are no accountability gaps, while security and access policies should be enforced and monitored with mechanisms that do not interrupt workflows.
Treating mobile mobility in healthcare as a purely “IT” project overlooks its vastly different real-world requirements, leading to workarounds and exceptions that become difficult to manage. If you’re a managed service provider (MSP) looking to serve the healthcare industry, you should carefully choose tools with a track record of success in healthcare environments, and consult with your clients about how their on-the-ground requirements differ from those of other organizations.
NinjaOne enables effective IT governance in healthcare environments with a comprehensive management toolchain
NinjaOne unifies MDM with remote access, documentation, and security enforcement and monitoring into a flexible IT toolchain proven in healthcare environments. HIPAA compliance is built in, providing internal IT teams and MSPs with a solid foundation for establishing effective governance of mobile devices in healthcare environments.
This allows you to maintain visibility into devices, secure and support them, and implement policies and processes that enable on-site clinicians to fully realize the benefits mobile devices bring to healthcare.
Quick-Start Guide
NinjaOne Mobile Device Capabilities
Yes, NinjaOne has mobile device management (MDM) capabilities, though the documentation shows these are still being expanded. Here’s what’s currently available:
What NinjaOne Can Do
Mobile Device Management (MDM)
– Android MDM with zero-touch enrollment for automatic device provisioning
– Support for Google’s Android Device Policy Controller (DPC)
– Automated enrollment configurations that can be deployed to future-registered devices
– Device lifecycle tracking from provisioning through management
Device Management Features
– Track mobile devices throughout their entire lifecycle (purchase to decommissioning)
– Manage core asset information and custom fields
– Apply policies and configurations to enrolled devices
– Support contact information display during device setup
Current Limitations
According to the documentation, iOS support and broader MDM capabilities are still in development:
– Version 1 of ITAM (IT Asset Management) currently supports only agent-based devices (Windows, Mac, Linux)
– MDM and other device types are noted as “will be added at a future date”
Healthcare-Specific Considerations
While NinjaOne’s MDM can help with device governance and management, the documentation doesn’t specifically address healthcare-specific requirements like:
– HIPAA compliance features
– Patient data protection protocols
– Care delivery workflow integrations
– Clinical governance frameworks
Recommendation: For healthcare-specific mobile device management that addresses care delivery and governance, you’d want to confirm with NinjaOne sales whether they offer healthcare-specific configurations or if additional third-party integrations are needed to meet your compliance and operational requirements.
