Why Custom Mobility Is the Right Fit for Healthcare and mHealth

The rise of mHealth (mobile health) has transformed the way healthcare is delivered. From remote patient monitoring devices that track vital signs at home to tablets used by clinicians in the field, mobility has become central to healthcare innovation.

But not all devices are created equal. Too often, healthcare organizations rely on off-the-shelf consumer devices—only to discover they fall short on durability, compliance, and integration with medical workflows. On the other side of the spectrum, traditional rugged devices are built for first responders and are too costly and rigid.

That’s why many organizations are turning to custom mobility solutions: secure, purpose-built hardware and lifecycle services designed specifically for healthcare and mHealth use cases.

What is mHealth and Why It Matters

mHealth is the use of mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, and wearables to support medical and public health practices. It includes everything from telehealth apps to remote patient monitoring peripherals for mobile devices, such as connected blood pressure cuffs, pulse oximeters, and glucose monitors.

The promise of mHealth is better outcomes, lower costs, and improved patient engagement. But to achieve these benefits, healthcare providers need devices that are:

• Reliable and built to withstand daily use in the field and at home.
• Secure and compliant with regulations like HIPAA and FDA.
• Configured to work seamlessly with remote patient monitoring devices in healthcare ecosystems.
• Built for global deployments with SmartSIM flexibility.

Why Off-the-Shelf Devices Aren’t Enough for Healthcare

Consumer devices weren’t designed for the realities of healthcare. Consider these challenges:

• Durability and Longevity: Consumer devices aren’t designed for the heavy, daily use common in Remote Patient Monitoring programs.
• Product Lifecycle Challenges: Consumer devices change specifications, form factors, and availability frequently, forcing organizations to juggle multiple SKUs and incur costly recertification processes.
• Security and Compliance: Healthcare requires data protection by design, including encryption, remote wipe, and mobile device management.
• Specialized Features: Providers often need no-camera models for privacy, biometric logins for clinical trial participants, or Bluetooth pairing for remote patient monitoring devices like heart monitors.
• Global Scalability: Clinical trial vendors and RPM companies frequently need devices that have a single SKU across countries and are certified for multiple carriers and regulators worldwide.
• Manageability: Consumer devices lack the tools needed to centrally deploy, update, and secure large fleets, making them difficult to manage in healthcare environments.
• Supply Chain Visibility: Devices are sourced and supported with complete supply chain transparency, giving healthcare organizations confidence in component availability and quality.
• Regulatory Alignment: Devices are built with HIPAA, FDA, and government standards like TAA compliance in mind, reducing risk for healthcare organizations.

In short, off-the-shelf consumer hardware forces healthcare organizations to adapt their workflows to the device—when it should be the other way around. And when those devices fail or fall out of compliance, the costs can include downtime in patient care, data breaches, and regulatory fines.

Case Example: Remote Patient Monitoring in Action

Take the example of VaxCare, which partnered with Social Mobile to build custom Android devices for vaccine management. The devices shipped with Zero-touch enrollment, came preloaded with secure apps, and were supported for over three years.

Now apply that same model to remote patient monitoring devices in healthcare:

• Smartphones locked down for patient use only, paired with Bluetooth-enabled glucose monitors.
• Tablets configured with EMR apps and high-resolution cameras for telehealth check-ins.
• Wearables designed for long-term trials, tracking heart rate or oxygen levels.

These custom mobility solutions enable RPM companies to scale faster, protect sensitive patient data, and keep costs predictable.

The Custom Mobility Checklist for mHealth

Use this quick checklist to decide if custom mobility is the right fit for your mHealth program:

▢  Do you deploy remote patient monitoring devices that must connect reliably to mobile hardware?
▢  Your devices must fit specific workflows /user-experience that you are not able to easily meet?
▢  Do your devices or services need to meet HIPAA/FDA compliance standards?
▢  Do patients or field staff need rugged, long-lasting hardware?
▢  Are there features in standard consumer devices that are not needed and add extra expense (e.g. camera, biometric login)?
▢  Are you anticipating global or multi-country deployments?
▢  Is lowering your total cost of ownership a key priority?

If you answered “yes” to two of these, it’s time to consider custom mobility for healthcare.

Social Mobile: Custom Android Devices Purpose-Built for Healthcare

Social Mobile is a leader in enterprise mobility solutions for healthcare, specializing in custom-built devices for mHealth. Their strengths include:

• Purpose-Built Hardware: tablets, handhelds, wearables, and gateways tailored for healthcare.
• Customization Flexibility: options like no-camera, biometric login, custom branding, and global SKUs.
• Security by Design: Play Protect certified, Android Enterprise Recommended, with guaranteed 3+ years of support.
• Rapid Deployment: Social Mobile’s pre-certified platforms let healthcare programs move from concept to nationwide deployment in a matter of weeks—not years.
• Guaranteed Product Availability: Devices have multi-year availability (3+ years), ensuring stability for healthcare programs and avoiding costly recertification.

Leverage the Power of Social Mobile with Stratix

While Social Mobile delivers custom devices, Stratix provides the services, support, and lifecycle management that keep healthcare mobility programs running smoothly at scale. Healthcare organizations trust Stratix for:

• Specialty Engineering: Custom cases, mounts, and peripherals purpose-built for clinical environments and field use.
• Global Deployment and Logistics: Expert and highly accurate secure provisioning, custom app loads, and kitting, along with worldwide shipping direct to patients, caregivers, or trial participants.
• Lifecycle Management: End-to-end services for device staging, repair, swap, and refresh programs that keep healthcare teams and patients connected without downtime.
• 24x7x365 Support: Always-on help desk and technical support to quickly resolve device issues for clinicians and patients.
• Proactive Monitoring with itrac360: Real-time visibility into device health, connectivity, and compliance—empowering IT teams to take action before issues disrupt care.
• Connectivity at Scale: Multi-carrier SmartSIM solutions to ensure reliable connections anywhere care happens, from patient homes to international trial sites.

With Stratix, healthcare organizations don’t just get devices—they get a long-term mobility partner dedicated to keeping programs compliant, cost-effective, and fully supported.

mHealth Runs Better on Custom Mobility

mHealth and remote patient monitoring devices are reshaping how healthcare is delivered. But to realize their full potential, organizations need more than consumer smartphones and tablets—they need custom mobility solutions designed for healthcare.

With Social Mobile building the devices and Stratix managing them across their entire lifecycle, healthcare providers and RPM companies can deploy secure, compliant, and cost-effective solutions at scale. Whether you’re scaling a remote patient monitoring program, launching an international clinical trial, or equipping frontline caregivers, Social Mobile and Stratix can help you deliver secure, compliant mobility at scale. Want to learn more and see options? Reach out today for a consultation.