Imagine this common scenario: One of your group’s physicians walks into a busy coffee shop in a public area of the local hospital before making rounds. At the checkout, the physician digs into every pocket of his lab coat in search of his wallet, laying prescription pads, pocket references, and his cell phone on the counter. Once he finally locates his wallet and walks away, he realizes he’s left his cell phone behind. He quickly returns, only to learn that his phone is long gone.

At that moment back in your office, your front-desk staffer is using her PC to quickly cut and paste text messages to that very same missing cell phone. Those messages contain a list of patients the physician is to round on, his list of in-office patients scheduled for his afternoon clinic (including the patients’ dates of birth and Social Security numbers, as the staffer just cut and pasted the list from her scheduling screen), and a message that the physician’s broker called and is waiting to hear from him. On the same PC, the staffer is also using instant messaging, or IM, to chat with her best friend across town.

A few years ago, the lost cell phone scenario would have been nothing more than a minor annoyance, resulting in a few frustrating hours at the local cell phone shop to buy a replacement phone, the owner out nothing more than a few frequently dialed phone numbers, his pride, and some cash.

Today, a lost cell phone and your staff’s personal use of instant messaging could have much greater ramifications for everyone involved — including your patients.

What once was a lowly phone is now a pocket computer

The newest generation of cell phones can often synchronize data to and from your PC, connect to corporate e-mail mailboxes, carry robust documents and spreadsheets, store more data than four blank CDs, and, of course, support text messaging. These features can be a godsend to a busy, tech-savvy physician, enabling her to check e-mail, carry hospital rounding lists, store electronic medical reference materials, and receive and send text messages all in one small device. But these new capabilities also mean that you need to do a reality check on the security of your and your patients’ private information.

What used to be a simple device for making and receiving phone calls on the go is transforming into a pocket computer that also happens to make phone calls. Physicians at practices large and small are beginning to utilize the advanced features of these tools. They are on an evolving path, using their cell phones in new ways that can make both their own and their office staff’s lives easier.

While the instant flow of information made possible by sophisticated cell phones can lead to high-risk scenarios like the one described above, you can minimize such risks by keeping and enforcing a few fundamental rules:

Always enable your cell phone’s “auto-locking” feature. Nearly all cell phones have a function that when activated requires users to enter a PIN to “unlock” the phone for use. Enable this feature and your cell phone is nothing but a paperweight to anyone other than yourself.

Report a missing cell phone immediately. If your cell phone is lost or stolen, call your cell phone carrier and have it disabled. If the phone turns up, you simply have to call back to have it reactivated. While this may not protect the data already stored on the phone, it will prevent unauthorized users from making calls and text messaging.

Do not text message unique patient information such as dates of birth or Social Security numbers. A physician’s rounding list can simply consist of last names and room numbers. Omit any patient-specific data that is not absolutely critical.

The day you buy a cell phone, locate the carrier’s Web site, and create a new password for your account. If you already own a phone, log in today and do the same.

Password-protect all spreadsheets and Word documents containing confidential data using the password-enable feature in your office’s software application.

When in doubt, don’t hit the send button. If you think it may not be safe to send some bit of information to a phone, then don’t do it.

The perils of instant messaging