Rugged smartphone cases here at #HIMSS10

Smartphones and other mobile gadgets often get dropped in the hospital setting. This is why mobile health computers are often made with Gorilla Glass and they are built to be rugged. If your device can withstand a fall from a table, then it's probably fairly rugged.

Since enterprise smartphones are often not built to be rugged, the next best option is to enclose your smartphone in a rugged case. I saw several vendors who sell ruggedized smartphone cases while I roamed the exhibit halls here at HIMSS10. Unfortunately, most of these cases won't protect your screen from cracking if it encounters direct impact, so make sure you get a smartphone that is built with Corning Gorilla Glass.

Thanks again to HP for sponsoring me as a HIMSS blogger.

"virtually indestructible" phone

I'm sure someone could find a way to destroy it. That's why it's called a "virtually indestructible" phone. This Sonim phone is quite impressive (and also quite expensive). I'm sure it uses Gorilla Glass. I suppose if you're a military soldier on the field, then you may want something like this. I wonder if phones for the medical professional will ever endure an autoclave.

Growing need for rugged smartphones in the health care industry

Many of us who use smartphones have probably dropped our device. Have you ever experienced a cracked screen? How about a dead device? A brick? Whether you use a case or a screen protector, your smartphone can suffer tremendous damage if it gets dropped. Even if your device has Corning Gorilla Glass, the "insides" could still get damaged.

When will we see more rugged smartphones being used in the health care industry?  Maybe it will be the day when Apple releases a rugged version of its iPhone. I believe there's a true need for health care professionals and students to switch to rugged devices because you can't afford to lose access to your critical data that's stored on a smartphone. For many of us, the smartphone is our peripheral brain. Life without a smartphone could mean utter chaos.

I'm sure we'll see more rugged smartphones designed specifically for the health care sector. Maybe they will have some of the features commonly found on Mobile Clinical Assistants (MCAs) and include a radio frequency identification (RFID) scanner along with a bar-code scanner.