Fun to read all the mentions, reviews, free and sometimes paid reports about how off the shelf iPads are being used in healthcare. More fun to read between the lines given that the iPad wasn’t specifically designed for healthcare use. I suspect there are meetings happening in HIT and dedicated medical device companies which focus on “how do we stop this off-the-shelf device known as iPad from eating our very profitable, high margin proprietary device and application lunch?” Wonder what we can expect when the first generation of Android tablets hit the healthcare market? Will a lower device cost and easier application distribution drive more tablets into use by healthcare professionals?

But here’s the real question. Now that we’ve established there is adoption of the iPad by health professionals (hurrah), could we hear more about how patients are getting benefits from iPad use? How patient outcomes are improved by iPad applications? I know that patient perspectives don’t have the same zippy headline and click potential of new shiny hardware stories. I know that doctors telling stories about the iPad hardware use – dust, dirt, cleaning, battery life, etc. – are easier to quote.

But how about sharing the patient perspective on the iPad use in healthcare for a change?

(Credit for graphic: http://mobihealthnews.com/8731/infographic-sizing-up-the-ipad-for-healthcare/ )