Re: Tablet PC recommendations
From: Charles Bloom (dr_csbloom@yahoo.com)
Fri Mar 21 05:20:25 2008
Years ago I decided to get rid of all my paper charts and go paperless.
I couldn't find a cost-effective EMR that suited my needs so I found a
solution that worked for me. The day I set it up, I started
transferring records as new and existing patients started coming in. It
was totally painless. The only paper charts left are those of patients
who haven't come back since going paperless and they are archived.
Interestingly, I have met others who came up with the same solution on
their own so it must be fairly obvious.
At Wed, 19 Mar 2008, Garry E. Siegel, M.D. wrote:
>
>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
>
--
Charles Bloom, MD
dr_csbloom@yahoo.com
