Smartphones and iPads are the future of medicine. In 2004 we introduced hospital information system in our teaching hospital. We realized that one day, we shall move from the desktops to the laptops, and subsequently to iPads and smartphones.
Digital technology, to be effective, needs to be at the point of care. It cannot distance itself. In the hospital point of care information systems can offer several advantages. doctors can order tests, patients can skip OPD visits and doctors can use the devises to share with the patients their test results.
Take for example, the patient in this video. This gentleman is a regular visitor to the Medicine OPD of our hospital. He comes from a neighboring village. Diabetic for over a decade, his blood glucose levels were a bit suboptimal. When he arrived in the OPD, I thought that I shall use iPad to show him his test results and help him understand how and why his glucose levels were fluctuating. A graph is often worth thousand wordsโand I used it to explain to the patient the need for regulating his elevated blood glucose levels. I was able to do it comfortably in the crowded OPD of a teaching department, and was able to involve the patient in the decision makingโ a huge advantage.
Devices to measure blood pressure, monitor blood sugar, hear heartbeats and chart heart activity are already in the hands of patients living in rich countries. More are in the offing.
We might take some time to introduce them at the bedside. iPad at the point of care, was a small step, but who knows this seemingly simple device could become a giant leap for sharing information in the rural hospital!
