Mobile
As more clinicians begin using their personal mobile devices to aid patient care, hospitals must be prepared to manage them in order to ensure security and privacy, according to one expert.
Twitter can be used to track important health trends, according to computer scientists at Johns Hopkins University.
Websites are "the new storefront" these days, and medical practices should not be missing out on the opportunity, says one expert. However, he points out that they "are a constant evolution," and so it's important to "lay the right foundation."
Once upon a time, the tools of medicine were pretty simple: tongue depressor, blood pressure cuff, stethoscope. Nowadays? Try exergames and first-person simulators, "wiihabilitation" and multiplayer mHealth apps.
As doctors increasingly adopt mobile devices, this much seems clear: At least for now, Apple is king.
Founder of KevinMD.com board certified in internal medicine and practices primary care in Nashua, N.H. His blog has more than 47,000 RSS subscribers and 40,000 followers on Facebook and Twitter, making him social media's leading physician voice.
Physicians started to cautiously enter the social media space beginning around 2005 – most blogging anonymously – but today doctors are beginning to embrace the technology as a way to make a difference in patient education.
When it comes to using social media, fear of violating HIPAA rules is top of mind for physicians, but experts say if they can adhere to privacy regulations, the technology’s benefits are far reaching.
The "HOPEmobile" is a 64-foot trailer outfitted with sophisticated telemedicine equipment that travels to underserved and remote areas of New Mexico, providing free, comprehensive health screenings for high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, pre-diabetes and other chronic conditions.
The hours-long wait in the emergency department is the standard of almost any hospital horror story – for the hospital as well as the patient. It’s frustrating for the patient who wants to be treated, and for the hospital administrator who wants to provide quality care and ensure a good rapport with the community.