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With Apple’s announcement of the iPad, I can’t help but think of the impact it could have on the medical industry. I can imagine the medical industry changing and becoming almost completely paperless. This is, of course, hypothetical until the iPad can undergo testing in a real-world medical environment.

There are many articles about what the iPad is missing, but Apple always has a trick up its sleeve. It would take an iPad running a Mac operating system (OS) rather than an iPhone OS for the iPad to work in the medical field. However, the iPad’s large screen combined with the move towards e-health and centralized databases could mean easier access to medical records and charts for doctors on the go, moving away from paper records.

The portable and lightweight iPad can connect to the Internet, and could be easily swabbed and disinfected. The screen is large enough to read and enter notes. You can view EKGs, x-rays or other radiology films. You can order tests on the fly. You can read through old history notes without having to look for the physical history folder. You can update the drug chart digitally where information about drug interactions and dosages can be obtained easily. You can also change the dietary needs of the patient with a few clicks. The latest journal articles and clinical guidelines are there on your fingertips. The possibilities for this machine are endless.

Some hospitals currently use laptops wheeled around on stands, but these do not offer the same portability or patient interaction. The laptops are used as an internal input devise and are never viewed by the patient.

As the e-Health becomes more popular, the iPad could potentially become an everyday occurrence at the hospital and doctor’s offices.

What do you think about the e-Health revolution? Do you feel that your medical data and history will be safe on a server? Do you like the current paper-filed method currently used?

	Ron Marion 02/17/2010 07:20:04 AM	I absolutely agree that the iPad represents a huge opportunity for health care providers. The device itself is extremely powerful, not just for what it represents as an Apple product, but for what innoovations like this are doing to help shape the level of access and improved work flow for health care providers and patients alike. There are a number of excellent on-line articles that discuss the pros and cons of the iPad such as http://mobihealthnews.com/6265/apple-ipad-healthcare-industry-weighs-in/ and http://mobihealthnews.com/6299/9-reasons-the-ipad-falls-short-for-acute-care/ which do a good job of covering the specifics of the iPad and the product's applicability to health care. In my humble opinion, what is even more impressive is the technology that the iPad represents. Apple's innovation is leading to some new and different ways of thinking about computing and these ideas are only just starting to penetrate the health care arena. As for your comments about the safety of health information, I agree that this bears watching. There are many ways which this information could possibly be misused and we should all try to understand the implications of easy access to any of our personal data. However, I think that the potential benefits to treatment and reduction in health care costs will make ready access to our individual health care information imperative and generally a good thing.
	Jason Vander Weele 02/19/2010 04:29:09 PM	I think that handheld, touchscreen devices such as the iPad will be the future of medical charts and used in health practices, but I completely disagree that the iPad itself is going to be this solution. After reviewing the sources mentioned, as well as other independent sources, I think this gadget will fall short of a lot of expectations (it isn't even on the market yet for user testing). I remember when the first handheld pocket PCs came out, many were saying the same things we are now, yet it took years before a device such as the iPhone was actually able to prove helpful in the way we all imagined a Pocket PC ought to. Anyone remember the first versions of Windows CE? How readily do you think medical applications will be able to be used on this device? I'd imagine it will take quite a bit of money and effort. I wouldn't get caught up on the iPad hype just yet, or in the Apple Inc. machine.