Computers and the Internet have been revolutionizing the practice of medicine. Doctors are trained intensely to always keep reviewing their medical knowledge while staying up to date on the most recent medical breakthroughs going back to those intense surgical and medical teaching rounds during their third year clinical clerkships in medical school. Now things are looking better than ever for physicians who want to practice quality medicine by having the latest medical information available immediately with tablet computers.
Pamela Lewis Dolan has reported for American Medical News "Small and midsize practices planning tablet computer buying spree." A survey by the market research firm NPD Group has found that 76% of small to medium-sized physician and dental practices said they are planning to buy tablets in the next 12 months and spend an average of $6,800. These findings were part of a survey of 500 businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees across all industry sectors.
This survey indicates that physicians' personal embrace of tablet computers is now translating into a professional embrace in a manner that could put small offices at the forefront in the latest wave of health information technology. It has been suggested by some experts that tablets will become a central component of physician practices' technology infrastructure and will be used by everyone in the office.
Kenneth Hertz, principal with MGMA Health Care Consulting Group, has said tablets carry benefits that laptops and desktops do not. Tablets can be carried easily without worrying about having desktops at each location. And Even though laptops allowed office personnel mobility, the short battery life often limited the time they could be in use. And some laptops were too heavy and awkward to use with a patient in an exam room. Many experts have also said the tablet has caused physicians to view health IT adoption as something they want to do, as opposed to something they were being forced to do.
Jonathan Mack, PhD, RN, director of clinical research and development at the West Wireless Health Institute, a research organization based in La Jolla, California, has said now community-based physicians will be driving innovation and forcing hospitals to change the way they think about health IT, instead of the other way around. Current ownership rates of tablets ranges from 20% to 30%, with many other physicians saying they are likely to begin using one soon. This is good news for everyone as the quality of health care is improved with easy access to the Internet.
Photographer: David Castillo Dominici
