If you have
been in a doctor’s office lately you may have noticed your physician grasping
an iPad or some other tablet. What you
have seen is a new trend in the medical field in which health care providers
are incorporating technology into their practices. Along with electronic
medical records, the practice of medicine, much like most things in our world,
is going digital.
The hope
associated with this trend is the fact that medical practices can become more
efficient and cost effective in the long run.
The days of paper charting may be a distant memory in the upcoming
years. According to a survey done by
Manhattan Research in 2010, 72% of physicians responded saying that they use
mobile devices in their practice. The
report also went on to say that the number will only rise in the future.
In what capacity these physicians are using
the devices in their practice is undetermined, but it is safe to say that
technology companies have taken note of the possible new market that they can
tap. Companies such as Apple and Dell
are currently in the process of developing mobile devices that are equipped with
specialized EMR apps. Many hospitals
have already ordered these devices and are hoping that they will someday
replace the infamously bulky and awkward computers on wheels. One hospital that
has bought in to the technology is The Ottawa Hospital, which services over 1.5
million people in eastern Canada. The
hospital ordered 500 iPads specially tailored for EMR to a portion of its over
1,000 physicians recently.
EMR is a new
trend that has caught in many parts of the country. Physicians can now chart physical exams and
check patient histories and labs virtually instead of logging through stacks of
paper. Though paper charting will probably never be extinct, the advantages of
getting real time lab results and radiology right at a physician’s fingertips
are astounding.
So how exactly will EMR and mobile
devices change healthcare? The question is very broad and has many
answers. One answer is that of
accessibility. On one iPad a physician can pull up a patient’s labs, radiology,
and medical history without leaving the bedside. This allows for a large cut down on the time
it takes for a physician to give a diagnosis on a patient and places the
patient’s information in one place.
From the
information we can gather so far, it is safe to say that a majority of
clinicians support using some sort of mobile device and EMR in their
practice. However, there are some
limitations to relying totally on this technology in a practice. Tablets are not the best tool for writing
long summaries. In terms of sitting down and writing a long history on a
patient or physician’s note, the classic PC is hard to beat. Though there are some limitations to what
tablets can help health care providers accomplish in a clinical settings, the
pros definitely outweigh the cons.
With the
dawn of these types of technologies, the days when physicians view x-rays on
through standard fluorescent light in a darkened dictation room may be few and
far between. The prospects on the amount of time that can be saved from using
mobile devices and EMR are very large.
As is the trend in the practice of medicine, the science is always
evolving to fit the needs of the patients more efficiently and cost effectively.
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