Tablets for EMR/EHR

August 6, 2011 Leave a comment

Portability in Motion

EMR/EHRs have various input methods like dictation, typing, scanning, and digital writing. The most convenient form factor in terms of portability and natural hand writing recognition is perhaps the tablet PC. This is so because to carry laptops, desktop computers, scanning hardware, or audio hardware isn’t very mobile. Tablets are carried in the same way a pen and pad are carried and this results in a very comfortable and natural form of using technology. Tablets are wireless in networking nature, and that adds further support to their mobility. Tablets come with rechargeable batteries that have many hours of duration, depending on the tablet model. The iPad, for example, has a touted battery life of ten hours. This includes periods of non-use. In full use, the iPad would last around four hours, which is still pretty good.

Data Structure

Although a stylus can imitate the pen, it is not a perfect fit. The touchscreen interface of a tablet, although good, is still somewhat weak on touch recognition. This leads to hard-to-read “writings” on a tablet. Some tablets are better than others. I’ve seen doctors fully utilizing their stylus with the touch recognition technology. There’s another small catch to using a tablet and that has to do with data structure. With a laptop, the notes are keyed into the EMR/EHR system and thus allows for the notes to be easily structured and search-able. Keyword searches can be made and the data entry that was performed on the computer would allow for proper indexing of the information as text. With a tablet, there are two options:

1) Use the handwriting recognition software
2) Use the “scribbles” in free-form

There are advantages and disadvantages to both forms. Using the handwriting recognition software will structure your data for indexing and easy searching, but it will slow down your writing speed as your words are carefully deciphered into readable text. If you’ve ever used a palm pilot or PDA, you would be familiar with the handwriting recognition feature. Many a times, the writing is misinterpreted into something else. For example, you could be writing “willow” and it could be interpreted it as “uuillav”. This can be very annoying.

The second option, on the other hand, allows for quick notes to be made and saves more time than having the handwriting recognition software interpret what you’re writing. It saves the touch input from the stylus as more of an image format that can be viewed later and interpreted by the doctor when viewed. This doesn’t allow for the writing to be saved as text, and is therefore not search-able or index-able. Doctors using this method are still able to read their own writing and are able to read the patient’s history that was made prior to their current visit, but the encounters are not data organized as a keyboard text entry would be.

Slate or Convertible Style?

Tablets come in two styles: a slate or a convertible style. A slate is like an iPad where there is no keyboard attached and it is held like a pen and a pad writing tablet. A convertible on the other hand has a keyboard built into it and can switch from being a tablet to being a laptop. The convertible style can be very convenient in terms of entering in data that is structured through the keyboard, as well as flipping to the slate style for jotting down free-form notes. The drawback to the convertible style, though, is that it weighs more and can be hard to carry.

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Prospects of Tablet PCs

April 19, 2011 1 Comment

With the decline of first quarter PC sales in 2011, tablet PCs are becoming the new primary computing device. A recent survey conducted suggested that around 25% of computer users now use their tablet as their main device for checking email and surfing the Internet. So is it likely that the tablet PC will replace the good old desktop computer? Well, let’s have a look.

Neither a Laptop Nor a Smartphone

By far, the most popular tablet is the iPad. The price and software options make it the front runner of all tablets. That’s not to say that other tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab or the Blackberry PlayBook aren’t worthwhile. I’m sure they have certain advantages, but Apple has really seemed to have knocked their device in this category off the playing field. In the past, laptops seemed like the right solution to a portable PC. Desktops were just that, they were meant to stay on top of your desktop, whereas laptops provided the student, the travelling business man, and the IT pro desktop mobility. Laptops now out-perform lower end desktops, and with that power comes a lot of heat being generated by the hardware. Some thought that the hot bottom surface of the laptop disqualified it from being called a “laptop” as it could not be comfortably placed on one’s lap. Hence, the secondary classification called notebooks. But laptops weren’t really notebooks either. They were heavy and had a screen that popped up and blocked your view of the meeting or the class lecture. Another solution proposed: netbooks. Small, light, and exactly what we need? Not really. They too were hard to use as the keyboard was typically small and during typing the hand would hit the mouse pad and mess up everything.

Here in comes the perfect in-between: the tablet. It’s actually way lighter and has the basic functionality of a laptop and a smartphone combined. The touch interface actually solves a lot. No need for a popup screen that blocks the view. An iPad can use its smartcover to prop it up so that one can write using the touchscreen (something one needs to get used to) and it doesn’t block the view.

Functionality and Use

The tablet seems to be the true notebook as its physical form resembles that of a real notebook. Like a paper pad or portfolio, it is easy to carry around from office to office or from class to class. The essential use of a tablet for a home user would probably come under using it as a casual email checking device or quick web browsing. Its ecosystem would probably entail a kitchen, living room, family room, and bedroom. Tablets are good for e-reading as well, so a quick check of the newspaper in the kitchen or a silent read in backyard would be one of its uses. That may not seem like much, but keep in mind that a tablet is an instant-on device. There’s no boot up time like a laptop or a desktop PC. So the quick access allows users in the home to not be hindered by a delay in turning it on. Tablets can also be used for viewing photo albums. Although media players and HTPCs allow the viewing of pictures on a TV, the feel and experience of a looking at high resolution pictures on a tablet is quite reassuring, kind of like flipping through a real photo album.

There are a host of business apps that allows creation from AutoCad to tracking statistics of sales and profit on the device. I believe development will yield better functionality and use in the coming years as tablets progress from their infancy to a wider range of implementations. I am setting forth a note taking process for my IT consulting business. My handwritten notes will be taken on my iPad and I will sync them with Google Apps. Here, I’m involving a digital process of record keeping and utilizing the Cloud at the same time. EMR systems are allowing doctors to take their notes on a tablet device and sync it with their server database as well as online Cloud storage. The flexibility of tablets is huge.

Future of Tablets

The prospects of tablet PCs seems to be bright. From the medical field to academics to professional business use, tablets will set a new paradigm in human interaction with technology. Tablets did make an early appearance in the year 2001, but they didn’t cook up a stir due to Microsoft’s lack of user interface cohesion. This rebirth, incited by Apple, seems to be more promising.

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The iPad for Small to Medium Businesses

March 6, 2011 Leave a comment

iPad for Business

iPad for Business

The iPad marked a new chapter in computing when it debuted in 2010. Selling millions, it spurred a new species of computer technology, tablets, and quickly made its presence known in the IT world. This past week, the iPad 2 was announced by the tablet bearer himself, Steve Jobs, in which he stated that 2011 would be the year of the iPad 2. What does that actually mean and how does it translate for business productivity for small to medium businesses? Let’s take a look at how the iPad can be used for business needs.

Aside from the usual software like Safari, Contacts, Mail, etc. The iPad does offer realistic solutions for the SMB block. First off, the iPad integrates with Microsoft Exchange as well as Lotus Dominoes and other standards-based messaging systems to allow mail to be connected with your company’s mail server. It supports most of the common VPN protocols so that you can connect it, through the Internet, to your company’s network.

To fit into your specific business needs, you would have to have an app well designed for it. But there are “generic” apps for any business. For example, if your business is focused on material production, AutoCAD WS allows you to view, edit and share 3D CAD files. This can translate to you showing your design schemes of your products that you have designed for the customer, in a dexterous and interactive way. The modification of these files and the ability to change 3D perspectives can really add to the “sell” of the product. This can be typically handy if you’re in a meeting and need to share your diagrams with your clients. The iPad 2 can be coupled with a separately sold connector allowing you to share your screen and your AutoCAD designs to a projector or screen VIA an HDMI connection, thereby giving the meeting room a visually tangible side. The iPad’s sleek design is sure to wow your clients or customers and can pay your company’s reputation a good dividend let alone the presentation power it holds.

AutoCAD for iPad

If you need to keep track of your product, MicroStrategy is an app that produces visual reports and graphs of your most important business metrics, such as product profits and sales.

The form factor is also to take note of. Being a tablet it is essentially a flat touch screen without a physical keyboard of any sort. When needed the keyboard comes on the screen and you are able to touch the keys on the screen to give your input. The sleek design makes any owner look savvy, but looks aside the weight of being just 1.5 pounds makes it easy to carry. The new iPad 2 comes with a special cover that doubles as a back rest to allow you to use it on a desk. So in terms of being a laptop replacement, the iPad does offer that flexibility.

For IT specific needs, something I would love to have, are apps like Wyse PocketCloud. It allows you to RDP into your computer and performs remote operations. There are other remote apps like iSSH that allows SSH, Telnet, and Terminal connections.

Apple has a division that not many people know about that can aid businesses with their needs in terms of Apple’s service. It is called Joint Venture and is specifically designed for SMBs and how Apple’s products can better help them with their business. Furthermore, the iPad’s ubiquity gives it the potential to have many more business apps in the future. I don’t see how the iPad won’t touch upon most areas of business, given its growth rate. Apps aren’t cheap to design specifically for your company, but rest assured that the creative potential of the iPad and the geniuses at work in Apple can make any business utility come to reality.

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