The devastating earthquake in Haiti last month brought relief efforts from every corner of the globe. Doctors, nurses, nonprofit organizations and humanitarian agencies descended on the tiny island nation wanting to provide much-needed medical assistance to the men, women and children who had their worlds torn apart.
A great example is the Israeli medical delegation that arrived less than 48 hours after the earthquake. The Israeli team set up a mobile field hospital complete with the latest wireless technology, including mobile clinical assistants (MCAs) that were used to take pictures and create electronic medical records (EMR). The delegation wanted to test the MCA device in the field and measure its effectiveness, and early analysis shows the presence of these mobile medical devices is making a huge difference during a difficult situation.
But this test really tells us much more about the tremendous possibilities that technology can bring to patient care everywhere. As the Haitian relief efforts show, technology is making diagnosis, treatment, and care better. Isn’t that what’s really important in healthcare?
This remarkable story was profiled recently on the NBC Nightly News. View the video here and please share this real-life case study with your colleagues.
On behalf of the HealthcareGoesMobile.com team, we salute all the volunteers who are making a difference in Haiti.
