The iPad in Health Care...Is it the Wave of the Future?

Published by: Brigette Scott on 4/12/2010 10:43:31 AM

I’m a self-proclaimed gadget freak. Armed with an iPhone, Blackberry, and Flip Video in my handbag daily, I also have the constant urge to purchase every advertised kitchen, household, mobile, GPS, photography, gaming, laptop and related gadget which claims to save me time or money; or simply look like the coolest chick in Starbucks. My son even changes the channel when an infomercial comes on television, screaming, “No, mom, I’m not going to let you buy it!”

So, when Apple introduced the highly anticipated iPad Saturday before last, you’re probably thinking I was one of the more than 300,000 people who purchased it the first day, and rushed home to begin downloading apps, right? Well, not this time. I decided to wait; as my son demanded (teenagers, always think they know everything, he swears there will be some kinks for Apple to work out by Christmas).

So, as I twiddle my thumbs, and wait for the sky to fall on the iPad, I’ve started to learn about the potential uses of the iPad beyond personal self-indulgence. The Orlando Business Journal recently reported on two pilot programs in hospitals that aim to help patients and their families better understand common medical procedures, using the iPad. How interesting! I simply had to learn more…

The Florida Hospital for Children at Walt Disney Pavilion is piloting an animated video iPad app for kids designed to help them prepare for a CT scan. St. Luke's Health System in Idaho is piloting more than 20 programs with content for patients undergoing heart and vascular procedures, as well as those taking part in physical rehabilitation programs.

Developed by Unity Medical, a health IT firm, the Medical Video jLog app is customized so that patients will be able to view videos and patient testimonials on iPads in the hospital or download the content from iTunes.

Sounds pretty cool to me! Safety net health systems are always looking for innovative ways to enhance the patient experience; perhaps patient education through mobile devices is truly the wave of the future. What do you think?

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P.S.

Check out this interesting article in The Economist, published April 8, 2010, titled, When your carpet calls your doctor: The coming convergence of wireless communications, social networking and medicine will transform health care.

bscott@naph.org

4/12/2010 11:54:39 AM

I was just going to blog about the Washington Post article on how the iPad may revolutionize health care ... I cant wait to see the implications of integrating this technology in the health care field .. it seems so worthwhile! But I have done some homework, too, and there are certainly a lot of drawbacks to the iPad already ... namely its lack of a USB port. And so comes a European competitor - the German WePad, based on Google's Android operating system and complete with USB port, web cam, expandable memory options, Flash capability and a faster CPU than the iPad. I think the competition will force Apple to do just what your son suggests - work out some kinks - but also to take it a step forward and give the people what they need! So I may wait for iPad version 2 and all the upgrades Apple will need to make to remain competitive. Read more about the WePad: http://eu.techcrunch.com/2010/03/19/apple-ipad-how-about-a-little-german-innovation-instead/

mlinson@naph.org

4/12/2010 12:07:05 PM

<a href="http://blabla.com/">nothing</a>

goga@gmail.com

4/13/2010 11:41:39 AM