“The real challenge in the future will be allowing physicians to use their smartphones seamlessly among all the hospitals they may be affiliated with, and to ensure information security,” Kasten said.

If used efficiently, smartphones can help physicians manage their clinical and information workflows, said Gregg Malkary, founder of the Spyglass Consulting Group in Menlo Park, Calif.

“The possibilities of the smartphone in healthcare are really untapped right now,” said Malkary. “What we’re really missing is the communications solutions that would provide individuals with a single inbox. The whole concept of unified messaging is so powerful, but today in healthcare, communications is anything but unified. The real opportunity for growth is in communications efficiency.”

Malkary suggested that one roadblock to increased smartphone usage is the unfortunate fact that many clinicians would just as soon make it harder to communicate with them. He said that physicians who perform a lot of in-office procedures would lose money if their workflows were interrupted regularly. Hence the need for more advanced applications to ensure that the hardware doesn’t become a burden.