Mobile phones in hospitals may do more good than harm

The use of mobile phones in hospitals is prohibited because of the magnetic interference they may cause. A study, performed by the Yale University School of Medicine, however, revealed that actually cellphones may do more good than harm. The researchers have found out that the handsets reduce medical errors as they allow more timely communication and at the same time they rarely cause electronic magnetic interference. According to the study, which was conducted among anesthesiologists, 40 percent out of 65 of the doctors who used pagers as their main form of communication reported communications delays. Meanwhile, only 31 percent of the 17 percent of doctors who used mobile phones complained of delays. On the other hand, mobile phones pose 2.4 percent risk of interference with life-support devices, which is acceptable, having in mind that medical error or injury due to communication delays pose 14.9 percent risk.

Source: MSNBC