I've yet to see one in medical use here in the UK, but it could be just a matter of time. A potentially lucrative market for developers, too.
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iPads becoming hospital fixture
- Thread starter Blue Velvet
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I've yet to see one in medical use here in the UK, but it could be just a matter of time. A potentially lucrative market for developers, too.
Let's just hope when you are lying in your hospital bed, on the verge of death and they pick up the iPad it does not go wrong.
As go wrong they will eventually.
A piece of paper with writing on it costs nothing to replace and does not do wrong.
It's all nice and shiny and modern, but when things get serious I'd rather have something 100% reliable than some modern gadget.
except when the nurses cannot read the writing on the paper and prescribe the wrong dosage or the piece of paper gets misplaced or put into another persons chart
our hospital is not embracing the iPad yet but I am working to change that. We are getting more and more doctors whom are asking about it.
I would imagine it's easier to press the wrong button on a screen than it is to write the wrong number on a piece of paper.
Just like we has so many mis priced items on web pages, due to typo's
I love tech, I'm just aware it's easy to replace things that are 100% reliable with tech that whilst looks clever, when it goes wrong, boy does it go wrong.
Which is fine if it's a letter of a photo or something, but not when it's your life. And who will monitor the devices in a few years time when they gradually start to fail?
iPad's also are home/entertainment devices they are not built for serious work with redundant backup systems in place and able to be dropped etc etc.....
Well, first off, as the article said, the ipadsare only being used as entry/ display devices, not storing the data.. So if the iPad tanks, no big deal, just go to any other computer and do what you need to do.
Second, do you know how many errors happen every year because nurses can't read the doctors handwriting, or the paper records get misplaced, or because patients don't 100% disclose all the medications that they are on or problems they've had in the past which cause complications? By having electronic records, especially if they are complete histories, any doctor treating you can see everything about your history, and his orders are easy to see and read and follow.
Sounds like a win to me!
How many people die because of bad handwriting?
I was curious to see how many people are actually killed because of bad handwriting and came across this Time article. The study was from 2006. 7,000 annually? Wow. Not sure how they came up with this number though.
On a little more upbeat note, if anyone is in the Halloween mood, check out this video by a company who is creating an app for their medical software.
I was curious to see how many people are actually killed because of bad handwriting and came across this Time article. The study was from 2006. 7,000 annually? Wow. Not sure how they came up with this number though.
On a little more upbeat note, if anyone is in the Halloween mood, check out this video by a company who is creating an app for their medical software.
I'm all for electronic health records. The health care industry as a whole needs to work on inter-operability between the different EHRs, though. A correct medical history is only effective if it can be accessed by clinicians and pharmacists spanning differenent health care settings.
As others have pointed out, more information is better than less information. As for a single button click killing a patient, there are safeguards in place to prevent buying an application unintentionally and it's unlikely that anything relating to physician's orders would be a single-step without a request for confirmation. We've all seen "Westworld" and it makes for good entertainment, but people do think these things through.
I can see by your posts that you do not work in the medical field... good thinking, but is actually so wrong, computerized records are way better than paper for everybody, especially the patients. You have no idea...
My old hospital only just switched from a DOS (shudder) based system to a more modern electronic record. My new one still does paper except for viewng lab results.
iPads at work would be awesome but unless there's a lot of funds available (I've been to U. Chicago and the peds hospital has plasma screens in every patient room) it's not going to happen anytime soon
iPads at work would be awesome but unless there's a lot of funds available (I've been to U. Chicago and the peds hospital has plasma screens in every patient room) it's not going to happen anytime soon
You don't get it... that's EXACTLY what we're saying - that paper records go wrong too! I'd MUCH rather have electronic that can be easily read, than handwritten paper...
Sure, it's not going to solve situations where a nurse reads the wrong line, or where the doctor checks the wrong box (paper or electronic). HOWEVER, it CAN do things like have checks in that say "Hey, you checked to give this patient this medication, but he's also on this other medication and those two can cause complications, are you SURE you want to do this?" You can't do that in paper records...
I'd take the password protected redundantly backed up electronic files over paper anyday.
Fires, floods, improper filing, etc. Paper is just too fragile for long term storage.
Not to mention immediate access to imaging files (CAT scans, X-Rays) that make diagnosis and treatment more effective.
the biggest thing with paper is fighting over who gets the chart next. Honestly I feel like I spend half my time waiting for the med students, consultants, case workers, nurses, transport, etc to give up the chart.
It'll be nice when all the notes, consults,orders, etc are all electronic. Hell it was a huge difference when all the labs, and imaging were available.
It'll be nice when all the notes, consults,orders, etc are all electronic. Hell it was a huge difference when all the labs, and imaging were available.
Perhaps you need to go to your History tutor and rethink that statement
Just to reiterate, I don't mind Electronic Storage and of course instant access to records are good, but the iPad has been build as a very fragile home entertainment device, it would not get past the 1st stage of testing for anything serious.
Perhaps you need to go to your History tutor and rethink that statement
Are you referring to the books we have from the far past that only exist today because of extreme special care taken to preserve them?
And would an iPad with 3G not be automatically banned from all UK Hospitals since the use of mobile phones are prohibited? I somehow doubt we'll start seeing "Only WiFi iPad's allowed" signs everywhere...
I've read about this since those institutions are local to me. it's pretty neat and should be a great asset.
it's certainly better than papers that get mixed up or cannot be read. it's a perfect device for hospital usage IMO.
it's certainly better than papers that get mixed up or cannot be read. it's a perfect device for hospital usage IMO.
Well, unsure really how many hundred years an iPad would last for
Just think a very large hospital, with say, what 200, 300 members of staff with iPads.
Nice hygienic clean HARD floors.
Just how many iPads per day do you think you would be replacing due to smashed glass from being dropped?