There’s long been mention of how slow the healthcare industry is to adopt digital and mobile technologies, but one area that continues to drive initial adoption is the combination of EHRs and the iPad for physician use.
In an article by Marty Briggs, Creative Director of Marketing for HealthFusion, he tells the story of visiting two different physicians — one that was using EHRs on a desktop computer and another that was resisting the adoption of EHRs altogether out of fear of jeopardizing his patient relationships he’d worked on for decades. Briggs detailed how impersonal his experience was with the first physician who proceeded to stare at his desktop screen during the entire visit — exactly the disassociation the second physician was worried about.
However, upon a return visit to the second physician Briggs noticed he had started using EHRs on an iPad2. “I was surprised that my doctor of many years, seemingly set in his ways, decided to adopt an ambulatory EHR and iPad tablet technology,” Briggs explained. “Curious as to this move, I quizzed him and he explained that the iPad was the ideal mobile computing hardware solution for which he had been waiting. He said the iPad allows him to maintain eye contact, keeping the all-important doctor-patient bond intact, while letting his fingers do the charting.”
The physician went on to explain the many advantages to his new-found mHealth technology:
- Portability – The iPad is lighter and thinner than even the smallest laptops, allowing it to be held in one hand – allowing for eye contact to maintain personal relationship with your patient.
- Connectivity – Connect anywhere there is Internet, either through Wi-Fi or a cellular provider.
- Extended battery life – The average battery life of an iPad is about 10 hours on a full charge; long enough for an entire day’s patient flow.
- Rear-facing camera – Now, you can take pictures on the iPad and send those pictures via email, and even to a patient chart with EHRs like MediTouch. The pictures are of a high enough quality, that they can be used for documentation of medical conditions (such as a rash or laceration).
- Ability to draw – Capture images and draw right on them, using your finger to highlight a certain area or condition.