Pharmacy Informatics and Technology
I’m always on the lookout for a new tablet, and never more so then I am at this moment. My trusty Lenovo X201T is getting old. At more than a year, it’s downright ancient in computer technology years. It’s a dilemma to be sure.
Fortunately for me there’s no shortage of tablets on the market: Windows OS, Android OS, iOS. Crud, based on reports from CES 2012 I’ll have a much bigger selection within another 6 months or so.
I finally got around to installing Windows 7 Ultimate on my Dell Latitude XT2 Tablet PC. I’ve been hesitant to do it because of the well publicized issues with the Dell tablet digitizer and Windows 7. You can get the gist of the issue at GottaBeMobile.
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HealthBlog: ““For example, as the use of tablet PCs within healthcare continues to grow, many of us will welcome the improved hand-writing recognition facility in Windows 7. It also learns, so the recognition gets better the more I use it.” He says the same is true for voice recognition: “I just talk to my PC and it does what I want, from opening programs to dictating letters.” The true party piece of Windows 7, though, is its support for touch – not just touchscreens but what has come to be called ‘gesturing’; support for a sophisticated but more naturalistic way of interacting with technology. “Clinicians are able to zoom in on an image by moving two fingers closer together, like they’re pinching something, or zoom out by moving two fingers apart,” says Dr Crounse. “They’ll even be able to move an image on the screen by rotating one finger around another, and right-click by holding one finger on their target while tapping the screen with another.” This sort of natural manipulation of text, images and multimedia will make computer equipment less obtrusive in the clinician-patient relationship; and should make technology accessible to many communities which use healthcare extensively, yet were previously somewhat overlooked by IT: for example the elderly.” – I’ve been a proponent of touch technology for quite a while and firmly believe that it will have a positive impact on healthcare professionals. We’ve already seen an explosion in the number of devices developed to take advantage of Windows 7 and multi-touch technology. I, for one, can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of Windows 7 to install on my tablet.
As usual there were a lot of things that happened during the week, and not all of it was pharmacy or technology related. Here’s a quick look at some of the stuff I found interesting.
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Tablet PCs have tremendous value in a decentralized pharmacy model. I am a big fan and have been fortunate enough to have both a Director of Pharmacy and CIO that are supportive of technology and my desire to use it. Last year our department configured two tablet PCs to be used by our critical care and pediatric pharmacists. The tablets are primarily used on rounds to gather information on patients. While utilizing the tablets the pharmacists have full access to our Siemens Pharmacy System for the patient’s medication record and crucial labs. In addition, the pharmacists can access the nursing and physician clinical systems, giving them quick access to additional information such as H&Ps, physician progress notes, nursing progress notes, finger stick results and much more. The tablets have been well received by the pharmacists.
You can imagine my excitement when my brother sent me an interesting link to a “blog dedicated to the engineering of Microsoft Windows 7.” The page contains information specific to advances to the tablet PC input experience. Improvements to the writing pad were deperately needed and the addition of text prediction on the soft keyboard will be a welcome addition. I’m looking forward to the next generation of tablet PCs. Our department has plans to roll out an additional 5 tablets over the next 12 months. Maybe I can hold out for Windows 7.
