Comments on: Intelligent Healthcare Information Integration 2/5/10

By: Gregg Alexander

Gregg Alexander — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:01:41 +0000

Admittedly, Kiddoc, I made assumptions based upon experiences with indirectly-related patient behavior and how I’ve seen some docs’ exam room PC setups. Your direct (& pediatric) experiential take is valuable and appreciated!

However, you accurately note, “I have heard that argument many times over the years, and it is always from someone that has never tried them.” In a slight reversal, I’ll turn that around on your imagination of “carrying around a tablet or laptop all day.” From the voice on this side of experience, none of us carries anything around all day. Just as I never carried a paper chart around all day, I set my pen tablet down MOST of the time. I rarely wrote in a paper chart as I held it mid-air. Just as I grabbed a chart going from exam room to lab, I now grab the PC. Even my 95 pound RN of 30 years has no trouble with the weight. Cripes, some of our old paper charts weighed more than our tablets!

I submit that both our experiences with the different form factors and workflow styles are, hopefully, helpful to those who are still considering their deployment. And, I completely concur, “to each his own!”

(Personally, I’m still awaiting the “Minority Report”-esque, floating-in-mid-air, no-need-to-carry-anything user interface.)

By: Gregg Alexander

Gregg Alexander — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:25:56 +0000

I agree, DrLyle; tablets never hit the grand slam many thought they would in healthcare. I remember GO Corporation in 1992 bringing their show to a little “Computers in Pediatric Practice” seminar I spearheaded during residency at Geisinger. There was such a rave about them then.

As to the iPad revival for tablets in primary care – could be. I know a Silicon Valley brainiac who may be a step or two ahead of the pack here. He has me on the edge of my iSeat (though, honestly, I’ve never been iHip, what with my trusty Palm Pre and my Windows Du Jour tendencies.) Still, I don’t think it’ll be the tool so much as the right app development that’ll hit the big one we need.

By: Kiddoc

Kiddoc — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:31:26 +0000

As a fellow pediatrician, I have to disagree with your comments. Not about the usefullness of tablets (to each his own) but about the problems of desktops in exam rooms. I have heard that argument many times over the years, and it is always from someone that has never tried them. I have been in solo practice for 2 years now, and have the same desktops, keyboards, and mice that I started with. They are sturdier than you think. And the rooms are designed so that my back is never to the patient, even when typing.
Different people certainly have different preferences. I just couldn’t imagine carrying around a tablet or laptop all day long.

By: DrLyle

DrLyle — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:23:20 +0000

Well- no reason to try and defend a blanket statement implying all tablet devices have failed- GA clearly has explained that there can be a time and place for everything. But I do still feel my point was sound- that tablets have certainly not proven themselves to be world-changers, and in fact many providers have been lulled into thinking they would easily replace paper and then are quickly disappointed by how much they weigh, how hard it is to input data, how hard it is to see data… albeit that this is even more true via my bias of practicing outpatient primary care. As mentioned, I think tablets will make more sense in some acute care settings where a provider has to be in many places, and the issue at hand is more focused (e.g. pt with new onset headache in the ER, vs. pt with Dm, Htn, Afib, high Chol and a new HA in my exam room). Will the iPad be a secret sauce for tablets… not by themselves, but perhaps with an innovative application in the right setting- they could really rock… looking forward to see what happens! And if you ever have trouble with it in your peds practice – your patients can likely help you figure it out!!!