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A few stories that caught our attention this week include a new HIMSS survey that demonstrates the widespread use of mobile devices to support patient care, best practices for using 2D barcodes in advertising, an article about the demand for cloud-based services through 2014 and more.

In our Follow Friday series, we feature a few industry news finds to share with you. We are constantly finding interesting, fun, exciting, noteworthy, shocking and industry-changing articles all week long on the internet. Check us out every week to see what catches our eye around the web!

HIMSS Analytics Survey Demonstrates Widespread Use of Mobile Devices to Support Patient Care Activities - EMR Daily News

Use of mobile devices by physicians to view patient information or access non-protected health information is widespread, and the percent of clinicians using apps to actively engage in direct patient care has grown in the past year in several key areas, including:

• Collection of data at the bedside (45 percent compared to 30 percent);
• Use of bar code reader on mobile devices (38 percent compared to 23 percent);
• Monitoring data from medical devices (34 percent compared to 27 percent); and
• Capture visual representation of patient data (27 percent compared to 13 percent).

Best Practices for Using 2D Barcodes in Advertising - The Barcode News

One of the primary advantages of QR Codes is access to advanced metrics. This access ensures that you know who is visiting your website and how they found it—vital information to consider as you formulate your marketing strategy. Furthermore, many QR Code generators can be utilized free of charge, lowering overhead costs and maximizing your profits.

A few stories that caught our attention this week include a look at how mobile is affecting the American election season and a medical development that looks at a blood sample like a barcode scanner.  Check out the links below to read the full articles.

In our Follow Friday series, we feature a few industry news finds to share with you. We are constantly finding interesting, fun, exciting, noteworthy, shocking and industry-changing articles all week long on the internet. Check us out every week to see what catches our eye around the web!

The Rise of Mobile in Election 2012 - Mashable
By Matt Petronzio

The growth of mobile technologies is changing the way the world works, and the way mobile is being used in this year's rapidly-approaching election is the perfect example of how smartphones affect America’s future.

Doctor’s Orders: Healthcare in the Cloud - NetworkWorld
By Brandon Butler

In such a highly-regulated industry as healthcare, there’s a delicate balance to be maintained between using new technological advancements to reduce costs, such as outsourcing hardware management to the cloud, and protecting the information that would be affected.  Find out what the CIO of a mid-sized healthcare provider thinks of that balance, and how she walks the fine line between innovation and regulation.

Read more to see what else we found, including a discussion on whether social media have made the helpdesk obsolete.

The drive to reduce healthcare costs is intersecting with the rise of reliable and prominent mobile technologies, and at that intersection is the continuous growth of medical imaging. Healthcare providers are increasingly moving medical imaging documents and health records online in order to increase efficiency and productivity. 

Read more to find out how barcodes simplify access to electronic health records (EHR), boosting accuracy and productivity.

This week we share some of the stories that caught our attention including an infographic on the future of RFID, Android hits 500 million mark, who scans more barcodes with their mobile device while shopping - men or women, and more.

In our Follow Friday series, we feature a few of our finds to share with you.  We are constantly finding interesting, fun, exciting, noteworthy, shocking and industry-changing articles.  Check us out every week to see what catches our eye around the web!

The Future of RFID - Infographic - ThingMagic
This infographic tracks the trends and savings related to the increasing use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) in new technologies, such as in identification bracelets in hospitals, as various wireless devices and communication techniques converge.

Invisible Quick-Response Codes (the Square Ones) Could Thwart Counterfeiting - Scientific American
By Larry Greenemeier
Invisible barcodes fighting crime?  It sounds like the plot of a science fiction novel, but researchers have developed a way to print QR codes using inks only visible under laser light, a technique they believe can be used to fight counterfeiting and forgery.

91% of Men Have Scanned a Barcode While Shopping - BizReport
By Helen Leggatt
New research into the mobile consumer buying habits of men and women reveals that, not only do men shop more via mobile than women, but they also make more use of barcode scanners. Not only are men out-shopping women in categories such as consumer electronics, but also in those such as food and drink and digital content.

Read more to see what else caught our eye, and to share what you've found this week.