Why Ipads could become Device of choice for EMR practices.

Here is a detailed article in CIO insider Magazine.

Why One Company is Ditching Sales Laptops for iPads

Take a look at the decision process behind one company's move to replace laptops with iPads and embrace the consumerization of enterprise IT - plus the training and security issues that have popped up.

http://www.cio.com/article/637864/Why_One_Company_is_Ditching_Sales_Laptops_for_iPads?page=2&taxonomyId=3004


This article analyses how Ipad is a better tool than laptop. I am a strong believer that any technology which mimics the current process and improves on it without complicating it will be the final successfully accepted technology.

I can envision all the Medical practices will have a device like Ipad/or other tablet in every examination room.Once a patient is checked in. The person checking in would create and open the records of the patient for the doctor review.Check for all the things they do now and hand it over to attending doctor like they do with paper files now.Doctor reviews and examins the patient, makes recomendations including prescrptions.Patients goes back to the front desk and the attendent reviews required follow up and sends the instructions to required providers and bill for it while updating the records.

While filling prescription software checks and double checks for any allergies and conflicts in prescriptions.In future it may also check for the best cost effective choices for filling the prescrptions.

I KNOW IT MAY PLAY HAVOC IF IT WOULD ALSO CALCULATE COSTS OF THE PROCEDURES TO BE PERFORMED INSTANTLY AND INFORM THE BEST CHOICES ON THE BASIS OF COST AND OUTCOME BASIS.
The company has figured costs for Ipad in the range of 1500 dollars per unit against a laptop 2200 dollars.They think their are issues with support which need attention.

Conceptus is looking at a few apps on the App Store as a temporary fix, but the long-term goal is to implement a Citrix virtual desktop solution sometime next year, whereby documents reside on the server and are accessed via a native iPad app.

"Until we get some level of virtualization on the device for those tasks, we don't have a firm answer," Letasse says. "There's a gap between now and when we can go without a laptop."

In the case of EMR this problem does not exist as IPad will WI Fi connected with the web and a server with in few feets.