Re: Tablet PC recommendations
From: Garry E. Siegel, M.D. (garrys@mindspring.com)
Wed Mar 19 17:06:35 2008
My practice has not yet really looked into EMR for many reasons, and
while I am reasonably into technology (I guess most of us are, to a
degree), it scares the fool out of me because I think that the
transition will be painful and the upside will take months, if not
years, to be evident. This is from someone who uses a handheld
dictaphone and, frankly, it works, it is quick, it is legible, etc. It's
a shame it is costly.
That said, Rafael's comments are sage.
Garry
>It's not really that simple.
>
>If you put aside the presumed greater portability of the tablet (thus
>easier to use in running from room to room seeing patients) which is
>not always the case as other listers have pointed out, the "user
>friendly thing" depends ENTIRELY on the software.
>
>For example, considering one particular program (EMR) that I am
>familiar with, it is written to be used with a stylus on a touch
>screen portable (although it could just as well be on a tablet). Yet
>is is such a horrible POC and so poorly written that it actually
>slows down your patient flow. Being a touch typist (or if you have a
>decent speech recognition software) you can complete a patient
>encounter twice as fast entering the info into a basic data base, or
>even a word processing program, or at its most basic, an email
>program where you store each encounter as one letter. All easily
>searchable and listable.
>
>If one had an elegant program where form followed function (as, for
>example, iPhone) then touch screen becomes a pleasure to use and a
>light tablet computer comes in handy. But if no such program exists
>(or you do not have one) then a touch screen actually slows you
>down. As an example, entering a simple item such as a "chief
>complaint" into the EMR, it takes me 2-3 times as long to find the
>appropriate choice of words from the pull-down menu:
>... tap on the field to open the menu,
>... search (and scroll through) the long list of possible choices,
>... find what matches your needs,
>... click on the choice,
>... close the menu window
>than it does for me to type the few necessary words into the field.
>Ideally, that pull down menu should appear as I enter the field, and
>as I type into the field, the choices should be gradually narrowed
>until I find the one or two choices needed or complete the one I
>need. An intelligent software.
>
>Without well written software the hardware is useless. It takes
>visionary software and hardware engineers to put the two together.
>
>We had one major revolution (evolution) in 1984 when the first Mac
>came out with the GUI interface (not even invented by Apple, but by
>Xerox who did not realize the beauty of their invention and let it
>languish on the shelves), and now Apple does it again with the iPhone
>(much of it is technology was already around, they just put it
>together in a very neat package). If only all software/hardaware
>packages were so intuitive and easy to use!
>
>We have no such package in medicine at the moment. All we can do is
>debate the benefits of meager offerings (but very expensive) we do
>have, and wish, and hope for that spark of genius which will give us
>an intuitive, easy, efficient, and intelligent software/hardware
>package to care for our patients efficiently.
>
>--
>Rafael Haciski MD FACOG
>Anchor Health Centers GYN
>800 Goodlette Rd #360
>239-643-8780 office
>239-571-0292 cell
>Naples, FL.
>
>On Mar 18, 2008, at 12:54 PM, FRANCES WREN wrote:
>
>> so re tablet PC's ...do you think it is a more convenient...ie a
>> nicer, more user friendly thing?
>> frances wren
>>
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: robert berg <robert.berg@nyu.edu>
>> Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 10:40 am
>> Subject: Re: Tablet PC recommendations
>> To: Multiple recipients of list OB-GYN-L <ob-gyn-l@mail.obgyn.net>
>>
>> > tablet pcs have a touch screen and you can write on them
>> > directly with a
>> > stylus (as well as type with a standard keyboard). on
>> > laptops, you have to
>> > use the keyboard and mouse for input
>> >
>> > On 3/18/08, FRANCES WREN <fwren@shaw.ca> wrote:
>> > >
>> > > this may be rather a dumb question...I have a mini
>> > toshiba laptop .why
>> > > would one get a PC tablet.
>> > > I love gadgets though I am totally electronically unsaavy...so
>> > I would get
>> > > a tablet if it seems a great..lighter...etc etc addition.
>> > > advice please, as I have been curious re the exchange re tablets.
>> > > frances wren MD FRCS
>> > >
>
>>>> > > ----- Original Message -----
>> > > From: Douglas Krell <dkrell@msn.com>
>> > > Date: Monday, March 17, 2008 2:49 pm
>> > > Subject: Tablet PC recommendations
>> > > To: Multiple recipients of list OB-GYN-L <ob-gyn-
>> > l@mail.obgyn.net>>
>> > > >
>> > > > We're using a Gateway tablet but find problems with short
>> > > > battery life/hot running machine. We're wanting to switch.
>> > > > Anybody using a new tablet that they love?
>> > > >
>> > > > Douglas Krell MD
>> > >
>> >
>> > --
>> > __________________________________
>> > Robert E. Berg, MD, FACOG, FACS
>> > __________________________________
>> > __________________________________
>> > And this affects me, how?
>> >
>
--
Garry E. Siegel, M.D.
Private Practice
Roswell, GA
