A pack of medical applications was just released for Android, and it set me a-thinkin’. Although our phones are far from tricorders at this point (but getting closer), Android has a bit more of a versatile position. A powerful smartphone OS and (possibly) a passable netbook or tablet one, it seems like it may be a really good fit for embedded systems. I don’t even want to think about the proprietary systems and decade-old OSes that hospitals are running their diagnostic and records-tracking programs on. With a modern, touchable, and inexpensive to run OS like Android, there could be a huge increase in standardization and interoperability.
Obviously it wouldn’t just be doctors carrying around G1s and stuff. But picture a hospital (or school, or what have you) where the embedded and use-limited devices integral to its functioning are all running Android in some form or another. It acquits itself equally well to a tablet as to a wall monitor as to a handset, and a few tweaks would make it eminently networkable. Of course, this is all pie in the sky, and one could say the same for any number of alternate OSes, not the least of which being Linux in some adaptable flavor. Still, it’s food for thought.
As for the medical applications, damn are they expensive! But they’re established, professional apps that also work on Blackberries and such, so the price is probably are justified.
[via MedGadget]
I agree.
You could potentially have a portable tablet in every hospital room that could be used by patients to watch videos, browse the web, send email, play games, etc. and at the same time, it could be used by a doctor to pull up the patient’s medical records or launch any of the other medical apps.
Lots of cool possibilities!
That would be impossible. Unless the tightest security is employed, and that would be impossible given that people forget to use security, you could not provide a computer interface to patient that held confidential records, even their own. These regulations are covered by HIPAA, which establishes privacy of medical records.
In fact, I have been complaining about apps for the iPhone which are not HIPAA compliant. Furthermore, by FDA regulation, any product or software used to diagnose, treat, or otherwise provide a system to diagnose or treat a patient is covered by FDA regulations. The FDA does not treat these violations lightly, and my guess that some, if not all of these apps here and at the iPhone store will be pulled and the owners of the app will be fined for more money than they are worth.
There are a few companies that even if entrepreneurial in this field have spend the time to remain HIPAA compliant and receive FDA 510(k) approval to market their device.
Physicians diagnostic tools will always remain separated from patient records and always be inaccessible to patients or wandering individuals in the hallway.
Physicians already use a PDA tool called “UpToDate” which provides them with evidence based medicine. In other words, it will replace House, MD, because it has a sophisticated search for differential for every disease.
Second, since so much information is required to take a patient history, I don’t think a small PDA is going to be useful. A small tablet quite possibly, but it has to be rugged, and useful.
Third, radiologist might love these apps for receiving images, but again, privacy matters. I have no doubt the hospital can transmit data privately and securely, but how many doctors will password protect their cell phone. And it can’t be a 4 digit code, it will have to be a strong password probably of 13 characters to be compliant with HIPAA.
I’m a bit skeptical on how much these technologies will do for medicine. We’re at version 0.00001A, a long way from a broadly useful tool.
What the???
I thought hospitals banned cell phones!? So how can docs and other hospital staffs are allowed to carry them?
That is an urban myth. 15 years ago when cell phones required high power to reach a cell tower, and early medical equipment was unshielded, cell phones harmed the equipment.
Now, that’s just not true. Charge nurses and many physicians ban cell phones while they’re treating a patient, because they need it quiet. There are some rooms that are heavily shielded, so cell phone dead areas in hospitals are frequent and annoying.
Physicians and nurses still carry pagers (remember that antique device) because they penetrate the dead areas of hospitals (probably some frequency thing).
So, few hospitals ban cell phones. And those that do, would never tell a physician what to do.
I did what I should have done. Looked at the apps. Nothing amazing here, I can download these “books” (they’re not apps) from Amazon and read them on my iPhone.
Unimpressive offering for an eReader. To consider these medical apps is laughable at best.
Hi!
recently launched Android Medical:
http://androidmedicalapps.com
Android Medical Apps, Software, News and Reviews.
Hope, this new project will be useful for all mHealth-professionals!