The new Apple iPad hits stores – and hospitals!
As if the Apple iPad wasn’t already getting enough free publicity and hype; it is now being purchased in large quantities by hospitals too. In keeping with their reputation as early-adopters, California was the first state to embrace the new iPad as a device to help healthcare workers view EKG results, X-ray images and other electronic patient information.
The innovation behind the iPad makes it simple for doctors to use on patient rotations because it serves as a virtual desktop. Using application delivery software, physicians can have all patient information at their fingertips. Instead of writing notes on a chart, this innovation makes them more productive while keeping patient information accurate and up-to-date.
Patients will be amazed by the level of technology the iPad affords their doctors and specialists. Imagine being hooked up to an EKG machine and seeing the doctor view your results on his or her iPad in real-time.
Using an interface such as Citrix, these machines can capture the same data and records that are held within the hospital’s database of medical records. As a result, a doctor who is viewing your current EKG results will be able to compare them with other previous tests, such as echocardiograms and stress tests without leaving your side. And because your entire chart is also held within that same computer, the doctor can review other conditions you may have, or check for potential drug interactions.
If these new iPads prove to be successful for California hospitals, they will also distribute them to home health care workers, nurses, pharmacists and dieticians so they can all enter vital patient information in real-time.
Who knows how long it will be before the rest of the medical community catches on to the iPad craze, but the next time you are hooked up to an EKG machine you might want to ask your doctor about it.
