As medicine goes digital, Apple's iPad is top choice among doctors

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  • Reply 61 of 82
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    I bought a 2013 just last month. For the money the inside is pretty nice. It was either an Elantra Limited or the base Sonata.....


     


    Quote:


    Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post


     


    I think the Elantra was Motor Trends car of the year 2012. I rented one and was impressed with the gas mileage, handling and performance. A bit cheap on the inside, but today they all are! :)



    (Off-topic).


     


    She got the GT, which is quite a bit different. It has been in Europe for a couple of years now, but was intro'ed in the US only a few months ago.


     


    With its panoramic sunroof, and leather, it's really quite impressive. And the interior is surprisingly spiffy and cool: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2013-hyundai-elantra-gt-manual-test-review

  • Reply 62 of 82
    (Off-topic).

    She got the GT, which is quite a bit different. It has been in Europe for a couple of years now, but was intro'ed in the US only a few months ago.

    With its panoramic sunroof, and leather, it's really quite impressive. And the interior is surprisingly spiffy and cool: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2013-hyundai-elantra-gt-manual-test-review

    Ur right... I do remember sitting in a GT at a dealership. My GF was considering the reg. elantra! :) GT was a lot better inside! :)
  • Reply 63 of 82
    Duplicate! Sorry.
  • Reply 64 of 82
    Duplicate! Sorry.
  • Reply 65 of 82
    We use Epic at our place. Their strategy has been to service whales and kids (the story is that Faulker's husband, a pediatrician, had a kid die because information from another encounter was not available). Since they go after larger institutions, they get a disproportionately larger share of patients from a smaller share of facilities/practices. Reportedly their 'sales' department consists of a small number of individuals whose main job appears to be turning clients away.

    Having been involved in a minor way in the implementation of our system (content for Radiology) I can say the system is clunky at best largely due to the incredibly complex interfaces. This is probably going to be the case with any system. Interfacing with other systems will be even more complex. Finally, ideally the interchange will be a two way communication that will allow data to be pushed to the remote site rather than just queried. This doesn't even work now between sites using the same vendor, so expect a universal system to be a ways off.

    On the iPad issue, I typically use the Citrix client on an iPad mini, so I get the full package (including image display) rather than the very limited iOS native app. It's a little clunky but the Citrix folks have provided some decent options. There are design elements that work reasonably well on an iPad even though functionally you're running windows on the remote machine.

    Finally a minor correction: the Tesla touchscreen runs a customized Linux OS (specifically NOT Android).
  • Reply 66 of 82
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    apple ][ wrote: »
    Just face it. The iPad is the standard in just about every imaginable industry and business that deploys tablets, from medicine, to airlines, to restaurants, to clothing stores, to warehouses, in real estate, you name it. I would think twice about doing business with any business that deploys Android tablets, for a number of obvious reasons.
    eri

    Many banks and stock exchanges use Android tablets because their trading software can be easily converted from Java to Dalvik. Multi user support is also an absolute must when it's imperative to keep a traders profile separate from each other. PnL sheets are found on remote servers which can only be accessed with a system that can mount a Samba drive and be accessed from the local filesystem. Our trading software for instance uses a standard called FIX Protocol, it's basicly a XML file however these files are updated in real time and can't simply be copied over to the device to manipulate but must be accessed on the server.

    There is no doubt that a iPad is a very useful tool in business but it's also missing some functionality that certain industries need. As a Unix user I like that I can use most of my scripts on the tablet itself, Python, PHP and Ruby are easily installed and like I said before can access multiple servers.
  • Reply 67 of 82
    pmcdpmcd Posts: 396member
    No surprise here. iPad is the standard and nobody even comes close. The also-rans need to just face facts and give up. Outside of perhaps a Kindle, nobody wants or has use for their junk.

    The real weak point with the iPad, and I am an iPad user, is the lack of handwriting capability. They need to support proper writing which means the need for active digitizer equivalent capabilities. Capacitive screens are just terrible for writing. Now you can say that writing no longer matter but it still does in the scientific world, and I would hope that doctors are still living there.

    I have owned every iPad but Apple's reluctance to support writing led me to a Samsung Note 8.0, and from a very Apple supportive person point of view I must tell you that Apple has to add more than just poking at a screen to its lineup. I for one will probably never buy another iPad until they do.

    Philip
  • Reply 68 of 82
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    pmcd wrote: »
    The real weak point with the iPad, and I am an iPad user, is the lack of handwriting capability. They need to support proper writing which means the need for active digitizer equivalent capabilities. Capacitive screens are just terrible for writing. Now you can say that writing no longer matter but it still does in the scientific world, and I would hope that doctors are still living there.

    I have owned every iPad but Apple's reluctance to support writing led me to a Samsung Note 8.0, and from a very Apple supportive person point of view I must tell you that Apple has to add more than just poking at a screen to its lineup. I for one will probably never buy another iPad until they do.

    Philip

    The iPad has some of the best music creation apps that I have ever used so until they become available on other platforms I will always have one. However for work related uses I still prefer Windows 8 or Android on my tablet. The handwriting tech on my Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet 2 is pretty awesome. I no longer use a journal when in meetings or when writing down any notes for that matter. I to really wish that the iPad Mini had support for a active digitizer, the size is perfect for note taking. However the Samsung Note 8 is a good alternative, Samsung's dedicated pen apps are very intuitive and useful.
  • Reply 69 of 82
    sandorsandor Posts: 655member
    We use iPad minis in the clinic. For viewing images on our PACS, it is far better than paper or a desktop CPU. Our next EMR will work on the mini as well - and they fit perfectly inside a white coat pocket.

    We are also transitioning to an EMR (Modernized Medicine) that utilizes an iPad-based UI for direct patient interaction, and has a web background as well for more detailed data processing/entry.

    I find it appalling that many current EMR systems require medical staff to be behind a computer screen, rather than dealing directly with the patient. It is impersonal for both, and i have never met anyone that actually likes it.


    In terms of number of devices, we have 4 doctors and 8 other medical staff. But 17 examination rooms. If everyone gets their own tablet, and is responsible for it, we only need 12 devices versus 17. I would say that the majority of my hospital's clinics work the same way - far more exam rooms than staff, so outfitting each exam room is the least efficient way of doing things.
  • Reply 70 of 82
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


     but it does require larger lab coat pockets and also carrying around a tablet all day, but on the plus side it does offer better security for the patient data. Even though the iPads aren't that heavy, it is an additional bulky item to tote around all day.



     


    Not that big, not that heavy. Especially if you get a Mini. 


     


    Also, if you are using a system that connects to a server based record system then you can still have the receptionist enter this bit, the nurse that, and the doctor that. And all can see what each has done. 


     


    Some states are looking at state wide adoption of the same software or at least software that uses protocols that will take to various software so that everything is online such that if, for example, I get rushed to the hospital cause I am puking my guts up they can access the records for my GP and find out what drugs I'm on and have been on, my allergies and oh yeah, I had a mild stomach ulcer 2 years ago due to a drug reaction and I still have my appendix. And on such a system my vitals, diagnosis and treatment for my case of food poisoning are available to my GP. 


     


    Apple themselves have a system in line that works in this kind of way for tech appointments. Their iPads have various apps that allow for particular views of information as needed by parties of different authority and it all goes into a system that is accessible as needed by various stores, Apple Care etc. Watch sometime if you are there for any appointment and you'll see it in action. 


     


    And an advantage to everyone having their own means that they are logged in with an individual id that allows folks to see which nurse etc entered what data and even to review alerts for new information without being in the room. It can be pushed by various parties to all the devices with that patient currently 'in progress'. 

  • Reply 71 of 82
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sessamoid View Post


     


    You're delusional, or you've been watching too many cheesy SciFi movies.



     


    He's neither. Such hardware that could report data directly to an app or server avoids input errors. And yes one day those paper surveys could be replaced by an iPad as well and yes it might be with audio prompts. 

  • Reply 72 of 82
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Dude, I crossed Ford off my list as far as car choices b/c of MS Sync....and tesla b/c of android. Shame.

    I'm betting Microsoft paid Ford to get into their vehicles, something I assume Apple would never do.
  • Reply 73 of 82
    macbook promacbook pro Posts: 1,605member
    oliverochs wrote: »
    We use Epic at our place. Their strategy has been to service whales and kids (the story is that Faulker's husband, a pediatrician, had a kid die because information from another encounter was not available). Since they go after larger institutions, they get a disproportionately larger share of patients from a smaller share of facilities/practices. Reportedly their 'sales' department consists of a small number of individuals whose main job appears to be turning clients away.

    Having been involved in a minor way in the implementation of our system (content for Radiology) I can say the system is clunky at best largely due to the incredibly complex interfaces. This is probably going to be the case with any system. Interfacing with other systems will be even more complex. Finally, ideally the interchange will be a two way communication that will allow data to be pushed to the remote site rather than just queried. This doesn't even work now between sites using the same vendor, so expect a universal system to be a ways off.

    On the iPad issue, I typically use the Citrix client on an iPad mini, so I get the full package (including image display) rather than the very limited iOS native app. It's a little clunky but the Citrix folks have provided some decent options. There are design elements that work reasonably well on an iPad even though functionally you're running windows on the remote machine.

    Finally a minor correction: the Tesla touchscreen runs a customized Linux OS (specifically NOT Android).

    Which PACS are you using?
  • Reply 74 of 82
    macbook promacbook pro Posts: 1,605member
    sandor wrote: »
    We use iPad minis in the clinic. For viewing images on our PACS, it is far better than paper or a desktop CPU. Our next EMR will work on the mini as well - and they fit perfectly inside a white coat pocket.

    We are also transitioning to an EMR (Modernized Medicine) that utilizes an iPad-based UI for direct patient interaction, and has a web background as well for more detailed data processing/entry.

    I find it appalling that many current EMR systems require medical staff to be behind a computer screen, rather than dealing directly with the patient. It is impersonal for both, and i have never met anyone that actually likes it.


    In terms of number of devices, we have 4 doctors and 8 other medical staff. But 17 examination rooms. If everyone gets their own tablet, and is responsible for it, we only need 12 devices versus 17. I would say that the majority of my hospital's clinics work the same way - far more exam rooms than staff, so outfitting each exam room is the least efficient way of doing things.

    Which PACS are you using?
  • Reply 75 of 82


    In an Arrested Development kind of scene, one doctor had to use her iPhone at bedside to look up the dosage of Nexium (the purple pill on ever 5th commercial) and another doctor across the room was disagreeing. At this point, I thought doctors, technology... eehh.

  • Reply 76 of 82
    pmcdpmcd Posts: 396member
    relic wrote: »
    The iPad has some of the best music creation apps that I have ever used so until they become available on other platforms I will always have one. However for work related uses I still prefer Windows 8 or Android on my tablet. The handwriting tech on my Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet 2 is pretty awesome. I no longer use a journal when in meetings or when writing down any notes for that matter. I to really wish that the iPad Mini had support for a active digitizer, the size is perfect for note taking. However the Samsung Note 8 is a good alternative, Samsung's dedicated pen apps are very intuitive and useful.

    The iPad mini would be ideal with an active digitizer or equivalent. I far prefer the 4:3 aspect ratio to say the 16:9 ratio of the MS Surface. The Samsung Note 8.0 is 16:10 which is not bad. There are some excellent writing programs for the Note 8. For the life of me I just don't understand why Apple is disregarding this issue. Mind you, on the basis of the responses here it is clear that handwriting just isn't an important need for most users. I wonder if signatures will have to be disregarded since it appears as though people no longer handwrite.

    The revenge of the typewriter is a very sad event. Schools appear to be dropping cursive writing in favour of making sure everyone becomes a good typist. It's really odd.

    Anyway, I am very happy with my Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 and any future buying will not be from Apple until they stop pushing this medieval way of communication. Very strange as there was a time when the Mac was leading in moving away from strictly ASCII input.

    Philip
  • Reply 77 of 82
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by pmcd View Post





    The real weak point with the iPad, and I am an iPad user, is the lack of handwriting capability. 


     


    There have been studies that show that one of the biggest liabilities when it comes to medical mistakes is handwriting. Often folks jot things down quickly and it's not always legible. And mistakes happen. This is part of why typing is such a big thing, particularly at hospitals. Plus with digital systems you can have checks and balances for dosage calculations etc. 


     


    So in this particular case, the lack of handwriting capability is a bit moot. 

  • Reply 78 of 82
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    charlituna wrote: »
    There have been studies that show that one of the biggest liabilities when it comes to medical mistakes is handwriting. Often folks jot things down quickly and it's not always legible. And mistakes happen. This is part of why typing is such a big thing, particularly at hospitals. Plus with digital systems you can have checks and balances for dosage calculations etc. 

    So in this particular case, the lack of handwriting capability is a bit moot. 

    Huh, I have never seen a doctor type in his notations during a consultation, it's always handwritten. Even in a hospital environment and I've spent my fair share in one. They will probably later transcribe their patient info into a computer sure but the initial notes always start as pen. Your point's are all valid though, maybe they will change policy.
  • Reply 79 of 82
    Which PACS are you using?

    We are on Philips iSite, but it also works with GE centricity. They need to set it up to open a new Citrix server connection. Our Epic install is across several hospitals and they use different PACS. It's smart enough to open a new window to a server that can direct connect to the appropriate PACS server. As long as there is a windows client for the PACS they can set it up appropriately.
  • Reply 80 of 82
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    pmcd wrote: »
    The iPad mini would be ideal with an active digitizer or equivalent. I far prefer the 4:3 aspect ratio to say the 16:9 ratio of the MS Surface. The Samsung Note 8.0 is 16:10 which is not bad. There are some excellent writing programs for the Note 8. For the life of me I just don't understand why Apple is disregarding this issue. Mind you, on the basis of the responses here it is clear that handwriting just isn't an important need for most users. I wonder if signatures will have to be disregarded since it appears as though people no longer handwrite.

    The revenge of the typewriter is a very sad event. Schools appear to be dropping cursive writing in favour of making sure everyone becomes a good typist. It's really odd.

    Anyway, I am very happy with my Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 and any future buying will not be from Apple until they stop pushing this medieval way of communication. Very strange as there was a time when the Mac was leading in moving away from strictly ASCII input.

    Philip

    I'm still up in the air as to which aspect ration I prefer, I really like 16:9 but 4:3 does seem more suitable for work related tasks. My notes have never started in typed format, during a meeting I always write things down first. I'm a programmer so I use lots of diagrams, workflow depicted as shapes scribbled all over a sheet of paper or as of late in my tablet. I use a Asus program called Supernote first then keep my notes organized in Evernote, probably now one of my most used programs along with NovaMind.
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