pcmag.com— The iPhone and iPhone OS 3.0 will make a surprisingly competent medical assistant, blazing a healthy trail that all smartphones will surely follow soon.
Mar 23, 2009View in Crawl 4
Back when I was developing enterprisey apps for Windows Mobile, one of the things that was hindering adoption of these sorts of devices in the medical world was the inability to sterilize them, or really even clean them in any effective way. Has that changed at all? The iPhone does not strike me as a particularly robust device in terms of surviving repeated trips under a UV lamp or exposure to chemicals.
Wow. "Downloadable databases" and "drug references"? Time to get your ears & eyes checked. The potential explosion being referenced here is about direct interaction with peripherals (the Internet-ready device angle is just icing on the top of that cake). A multi-touch user interface is MUCH easier and more intuitive than many of these other interfaces when you take other things into consideration. We'll see how it ends up working out, but "data entry" has likely been a stumbling block for digital record keeping... and if we're to bring costs down, this is the direction we need to go. If devices are speaking directly to the iPhone OS, then it can record new entries directly to the network over WiFi. iPhones would have NO problems in hospitals if in "airport mode", so any GSM concerns are misplaced.Getting back to "downloadable databases", if you need to "go there", the iPhone is also superior to any Palm PDA because it not only has Internet, a widely developed and sophisticated modern API, but an exceedingly easy-to-use OTA update system for all of its software. I've updated "Epocrates" a few times, and never had to consider anything more complicated than remembering my password. Flipping through the reference afterwards has been very straight forward, especially with its excellent photos and pill descriptions. --I suspect a Bluetooth connection on an iPod Touch (2G) would work great with a wireless-capable pill dispenser. The doctor would tap the Touch to update the patient's hospital records, and the pills would dispense. He'd verify they were correct, and hand them to his patient. The patient would immediately be able to access their records online when they get home.
zdigglerMar 24, 2009
They're not allowed in Operating Rooms and other therapy rooms.
racekarlMar 24, 2009
Back when I was developing enterprisey apps for Windows Mobile, one of the things that was hindering adoption of these sorts of devices in the medical world was the inability to sterilize them, or really even clean them in any effective way. Has that changed at all? The iPhone does not strike me as a particularly robust device in terms of surviving repeated trips under a UV lamp or exposure to chemicals.
antdudeMar 24, 2009
Same with Palm Treo and Pilots. My dad does this.
cleverboyMar 24, 2009
Wow. "Downloadable databases" and "drug references"? Time to get your ears & eyes checked. The potential explosion being referenced here is about direct interaction with peripherals (the Internet-ready device angle is just icing on the top of that cake). A multi-touch user interface is MUCH easier and more intuitive than many of these other interfaces when you take other things into consideration. We'll see how it ends up working out, but "data entry" has likely been a stumbling block for digital record keeping... and if we're to bring costs down, this is the direction we need to go. If devices are speaking directly to the iPhone OS, then it can record new entries directly to the network over WiFi. iPhones would have NO problems in hospitals if in "airport mode", so any GSM concerns are misplaced.Getting back to "downloadable databases", if you need to "go there", the iPhone is also superior to any Palm PDA because it not only has Internet, a widely developed and sophisticated modern API, but an exceedingly easy-to-use OTA update system for all of its software. I've updated "Epocrates" a few times, and never had to consider anything more complicated than remembering my password. Flipping through the reference afterwards has been very straight forward, especially with its excellent photos and pill descriptions. --I suspect a Bluetooth connection on an iPod Touch (2G) would work great with a wireless-capable pill dispenser. The doctor would tap the Touch to update the patient's hospital records, and the pills would dispense. He'd verify they were correct, and hand them to his patient. The patient would immediately be able to access their records online when they get home.
gordigorMar 24, 2009
Why is it still called Iphone. The phone part seems to be another app. Same with the Ipod touch. Music is second class to apps.
nebkiwiMar 24, 2009
Computer, please turn off the Emergency Medical Hologram.
refragMar 26, 2009
It should really have been called the iPod phone. Realize that "pod" has nothing to do with music, by the way.