∞ iPad a "must have" for electronic medical records

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EMR and EHR:

As I’ve written these dozens of articles, talked to hundreds of doctors, and far too many EHR (Electronic Health Records) vendors it’s become clear to me that an iPad interface is basically a Must Have feature for an [electronic medical records system].

More doctors than ever are using iPads in their practices, either as handy guides to drug interactions or to access patient record systems remotely. Writing for the EMR and EHR blog, John advocates for vendors to consider developing native apps, as many doctors are now opting to access their desktop systems remotely (using screen sharing software) since they have no other option.


  • Anonymous

    It’s just the beginning…

  • Anonymous

    Very true, we have dozens at the hospital where I work and most of them are used to access Citrix while on the go. The problem is, many clinical application vendors are so far behind the curve it takes them years to catch up to where things are today. We still have up to date clinical applications that require IE6 and getting to the point where we can even consider IE7 is a years long, painful process.

  • http://twitter.com/capturenotes CaptureNotes

    There are many vertical markets that would benefit significantly from tightly designed software solutions with the iPad (tablet) hardware platform.  As quietstorms said above, “It’s just the beginning…”

  • Anonymous

    I would disagree a little with John’s comment. It should be an iPad AND iphone/touch interface. 

    Why do I say that. 

    Because it might be more useful for some staff like nurses to have a smaller device that more readily fits in their pocket so they aren’t fumbling to carry their bigger iPad and a tray of meds, or a pack of this or that tools. 

    So change iPad to ‘iOS is a must have’ and I totally agree. The benefits would be amazing both on a cost level and a potential life saving level. 

    • http://www.healthcarescene.com John Lynn

      lucascott,
      You’re right in many regards when it comes to hospital nursing staff.  In fact, there are whole hospital nursing applications that are built on mobile devices to satisfy this niche.  My article was mostly referencing the ambulatory (small practices) doctors.  Although, certainly many of the comments could apply to doctors in hospitals as well.

  • http://www.healthcarescene.com John Lynn

    Thanks for linking to my article.  You might want to also consider this follow up post I did on my other EMR website which talks about how developing an EMR interface on the iPad could be a real game changer for many EHR vendors: http://www.emrandhipaa.com/emr-and-hipaa/2011/11/04/the-ipad-opportunity-a-decent-emr-interface/

  • Anonymous

    It’s definitely the only computer ever made that suits clinical needs.

    I have a friend who is a doctor and her hospital just put a big Dell PC in her examination room and expected her to sit behind it while she examined a patient. When she complained, they told her, “just think of it as a 3rd person in the room,” apparently unaware that a key feature of the doctor-patient relationship is that there is not supposed to be a 3rd person in the room. And she doesn’t know how to use Windows. Doctors and nurses have never put in the 40 hours per week for 6 straight months that it takes to reach some kind of detente with Windows.

    I have another friend who is a nurse who just start managing a clinic, and they gave him an office and a desk and a Windows XP PC that he does not know how to use. He’s never used Windows XP. He has a Mac at home and carries an iPhone. He told me he is on the phone with tech support 5-10 times per day, totaling about 2 hours. Plus, the IT department manages their Intranet, and they are always moving data around within the Intranet site, he can’t even bookmark something and come back to it. It’s just a total IT nightmare. And when he is away from the desk he can’t do anything, so he carries a clipboard and takes notes and then has to come back to the desk and be a data entry clerk instead of a nurse/manager. So he is trying to get a pilot project started at his clinic where everybody gets an iPod touch and the MD’s also get iPads. But his IT is resisting, because they have no idea about what the actual needs of the nurses and MD’s are, and the IT has their noses up Microsoft’s butt and are stuck in 1998. They think researching what new technologies can be adopted means going to microsoft.com/windows and seeing what Microsoft is about to poop out.

  • Anonymous

    This is one of the few markets where Apple’s competitors have a chance to get a foothold. Someone like HTC or Samsung should partner with one of the medical records vendors and build a high-quality end to end solution. If they do it and do it well, they could have a virtual lock on the industry in a very short amount of time.

  • http://www.healthfusion.com/all-in-one-ehr.asp MediTouch EHR

    While applications are great, why not use Web-based, cloud computing EHR software that alleviates the need to download anything; accessible anywhere there is an internet connection.  Ipad-native EHR software is already here, thanks to MediTouch EHR.