Today, Apple is releasing the newest version of the iPad right here in San Francisco. The New York Times is calling 2011 ‘the year of the tablet.’ As providers swarm to mobile solutions for their practice, many are wondering what mobile technology will have in store for their office. In celebration of today’s iPad 2 launch, let’s see what kind of an impact these products and their applications have on one sector in particular- the healthcare sector.
One area of applications that is taking the “market” by storm is health-related applications. There’s everything from tracking your weight-loss progress to a nurse e-prescribing medication on our new LogMeIn mobile-EHR application. These apps are making your doctor fit right in your pocket. While most of the apps in the digital marketplace are for leisure, some apps are putting data to use, health data that is.
According to a recent survey done by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 17% of cell phone users have used their phone to look up health or medical information and about 9% have software applications on their phones to help track or manage their health. While these numbers seem small, it’s only the beginning, especially when you consider the fact that there are at least 5,000 health-related applications, 70% of them intended for the consumer. By creating applications directed towards the patient, we are using the data to evaluate everything from the effectiveness of a “pocket CPR” to a tool that allows a woman to calculate her pregnancy and due date, even the baby’s astrological sign.
With over 2.2 billion cell-phone users worldwide and 15 million iPad’s sold in less than nine months, these types of applications are paving the way for companies like Practice Fusion. By opening up our API, we are giving companies the chance to create applications whether mobile or not, that will make physicians and patient’s health data easily accessible.
Team Critical Systems, our first API champion, kicked off our challenge by connecting an inexpensive bathroom scale to our Microsoft HealthVault and PHR. Through the real-time patient –driven data challenge, patients will potentially receive and report data directly to their doctors, possiblly one day though an app. Several talented developers responded to our call for innovation, with applications that monitor blood pressure, notify the doctor every time a patient takes a medication and even a mood tracker that links the patient’s mod to affective disorders. Stay tuned as our most recent healthcare challenge, Analyze This! comes to close (3/4) and developers get innovative in the “year of the tablet”.
Shea Steinberg
Jr. Social Media Specialist
Practice Fusion EHR
