Consumer electronics giant Samsung is making a move into the health IT space by partnering with the American Cancer Society (ACS) and Breezie, the developer of a secure tablet platform built over Samsung’s KNOX platform.
The company is using its Galaxy Tab devices to create custom solutions for patients battling breast cancer through a pilot program at the Athens Medical Center’s Breast Health Center in Athens, Georgia.
The pilot program aims to improve the treatment experience for patients facing breast cancer on multiple fronts, including giving patients access to all apps available through the Android store, using the Breezie interface.
The MyJourney Compass pilot, created by the Georgia Institute of Technology Enterprise Innovation Institute, makes customized content from the ACS available for patients on Breezie’s interface and runs on Samsung’s Galaxy Tab with Samsung’s KNOX security platform.
KNOX is a suite of mobile security solutions that provides device protection, management and development options.
The platform protects data on the device hardware through the application level and is geared towards ensuring that all patient data is protected.
The aim is to help patients feel more comfortable keeping their personal records on this platform, with the knowledge that their data is protected.
In addition, patients with tablets in the trial program will be able to monitor their long-term health and receive information on the latest therapies and medical advances as well as contact and collaborate with their medical team.
Breezie’s Caregiver’s Hub is an engagement tool designed to help a family member or caregiver to remotely select and personalize the services most relevant to the user.
CDW and Samsung are partnering with Breezie to sell an integrated solution that takes care of everything from hardware, set-up and configuration to ongoing support and warranty.
With tablet sales slowing across the board, their use in the health IT space could come as a saving grace for the once popular devices.
A January 2014 survey from Kantar Media found that not just patients, but medical specialists are finding use for tablets–about 51 percent of physicians say that they use a tablet device for professional purposes.
Overall, more doctors are using smartphones than tablets for professional purposes, but there are a small number of tasks that they are more likely to perform on a tablet.
For example, 28 percent of all doctors use tablets to read articles from medical publications versus 21 percent on a smartphone.
Further, 16 percent of doctors use their tablets to access medically oriented webcasts/podcasts versus 12 percent with a smartphone.