Lots and lots of discussion this week about Apple, its forthcoming slate tablet, and healthcare. Let’s start by saying I love my iPhone, especially after I got the hang of text entry. So now I ask myself if I would love that technology for bedside patient care. The truth is I’m not sure – there are a lot of questions I need answered before I can get too excited.
Here are just a few: 1. will it work with all the applications that clinicians need, especially the electronic medical record (EMR)? 2. Are the EMR vendors going to support this new platform? 3. How can I easily enter text through the onscreen keyboard? 4. Can I disinfect it with the standard list of products we use in hospitals including bleach products? 5. Can I add a barcode scanner to it? 6. How can we secure them in the facility especially given their probable high cool factor? 7. Will it have a docking solution that will make it flexible to meet the needs of multiple workflows? Ok, I’ll stop here, you get the idea.
But I do have to say that I am thrilled that Apple is pushing the boundaries. Having new businesses come into a market where experienced companies are already focused on healthcare can only be good for clinicians in the long run because it will provide even more options to help clinicians work they way they want to. And I’m all about what is best for patients and clinicians….maybe someday we really can quit walking around with two pagers, one cell phone and VoIP phones on our waist bands!
- Cheryl Parker, Senior Informatics Specialist - Motion Computing
