A recent report issued by Manhattan Research found that 64% of doctors are using smartphones - iPhones, Blackberrys, Treos or other hand-held devices which provide wireless Internet access and mobile applications. This percentage is more than double what it was just eight years ago. Physicians are using smart phones to access drug and clinical references as well as utilize tools such as dosage calculators.
Industry leaders envision a future of technology-driven healthcare with smartphones as an integral component. "Primarily, the work flow you are going to enter into as a provider at the point of care, in front of the patient, will be done on a device like the iPhone. [A] desktop, laptop, keyboard is pretty much not going to work if you want to do things quickly and do things at the point of care," said Tom Giannulli, MD in an interview on amednews.com. Giannulli is an internist in California who developed the first stand-alone Electronic Medical Record for the iPhone which launched in September 2008. To read more about how mobile technology is being used in healthcare, continue here.
Photo Credit: Christopher Chan