Apple’s iPad arrives for doctors …

See also Apple iPhone3GS for physicians, Medical sites for mobiles and Wireless

Apple’s latest mobile device, the iPad, was released in the United States in early April 2010 and will not be available in Canada until at least June 2010. The early reviews have been very positive but some early adopters in medicine are concerned about what the iPad doesn’t do or doesn’t do as well as the iPhone. The iPad is also generally seen as a competitor to the many e-readers, tablet PCs and netbooks currently available such as the Sony eReader and Amazon Kindle. That said, Dr. Joshua Schwimmer, blogging at Healthline, has compiled some useful information in The First iPad Reviews and News Roundup. Some of the more common issues being raised about using the iPad for physicians are summarized below.

See iMedicalApps.com for current reviews of applications for the iPad.

Here’s what Twitter users are saying…

• …about the ipad AND medicine and

Early reviews are saying that…

• One in Five Physicians Likely To Purchase an iPad, More than 60 Percent Intrigued By New Device. Epocrates’ #1 iPhone Medical Application Coming to the iPad.

• iPad is positioned between a smartphone and a laptop — but is more portable and lighter than a laptop
• Question for physicians: is this a supplement to iPhone or a replacement? Do you need both??
  • Handsome 9.7-inch interface enhances viewing of patient records and medical images, which are problematic on the iPhone
  • physicians will like iPad’s finger touchscreen design for data entry, or if not they can always use an external keyboard (optional)
  • for day-to-day use, the iPad doesn’t do anything better than an iPhone or a laptop/desktop
• But what is the iPad’s potential to enhance patient care?
• wider screen and better resolution is welcome; but if the iPad doesn’t fit into lab coats, forget about doctors using it
  • iPad has writing capabilities, but must be good enough to replace the way doctors enter records and take clinical notes on the wards and in clinical settings
• Apple is already pitching iPad in US hospitals as replacement for old physician clipboard; but cumbersome to carry
• inexplicably, iPad does not have mouse support; making navigation and usability a challenge for some functions
  • can’t take pictures or do telemedicine conferencing; a major drawback for on the go clinical practice
  • no multitasking so cannot run several applications at a time like iPhone
  • not resistant to dust and liquids
• selection of medical software or applications is limited; see Top 5 Medical Apps for the Upcoming iPad
  • no barcode scanning or voice-to-text dictation
  • not meant to replace laptops; in addition, there is no USB port, and does not support Flash for web browsing
  • battery replacement (10 hours battery life) not allowed, have to recharge – other power issues?
• most hospitals run Windows, and do not support Macs (introducing incompatibility)

One review even said astutely “If the iPad is going to do more than be an EMR portal for writing patients notes and reading their records, then it has to be strong enough to withstand disinfection procedures. Second, property safety. Desktops are hard to steal, laptops are easier, and an iPad would be a breeze. If patient information is stored or accessible on the iPad, the hospital’s lawyers will demand a pretty high level of security.”

Early apps

Carter’s Encyclopedia of Health and Medicine developed for the iPad by mogeneration gives the look and feel of a print encyclopedia with ease of an iPad app; features 12,000 entries provided by Medwords that in print would equal 1,800 pages of content. With all of this content, the app weighs in at around 50MB.