14 DAY TRIAL // Panasonic is drawing attention to a study conducted by BizTechReports, an independent research and reporting agency, that claims to have found major operational issues for tablet computers like the iPad in healthcare.
A white paper by Panasonic highlights the growing concerns of healthcare IT executives trying to meet the demands to support consumer-grade computing devices in healthcare settings.
Citing a survey by BizTechReports, the paper states that 66 percent of respondents owning tablets like the iPad said the device created “governance challenges” for their organizations. Security, durability and EHR compliance are also named as factors.
The study also showed that 74 percent of respondents said iPads presented challenges for entering data into enterprise-grade healthcare applications, because they were designed with regular consumers in mind.
This research was done in collaboration with no less than 100 executives and senior IT professionals in the healthcare sector, according to the white paper.
94 percent of participants were convinced that such devices like the iPad had no place in hospital and clinical settings, because of the high likelihood of these devices falling, being dropped or spilled upon.
Device durability and “ruggedness” are important requirements in such environments, the paper says.
After dishing out countless issues raised by the introduction of iPads in healthcare (some more plausible than others), the paper also provides a (convenient) "framework for how IT executives can engage with healthcare practitioners as well as management to address these issues in a productive manner.”
“Consumer-grade technology, like the iPad and many of the other tablets we see entering the market today, were not designed to operate or survive in commercial environments like healthcare,” said Panasonic’s Greg Davidson, executive business development manager.
“We agree the form factor has great potential, but wanted to better understand the concerns of IT professionals in the healthcare market. The study we commissioned allows us to better understand our customer’s needs and is a useful tool for any healthcare organization interested in deploying tablet technology.”
Interested parties can access the white paper - “Diagnosis Danger: Governance & Security Issues Cause IT Concerns About iPad in Healthcare Setting” - here (PDF).