Doctors’ Competence Could Do With an IPad Boost

Efficiency of doctors could swell if empowered with iPads since it lessens delays in patient care and enhances continuity of care, states new study. In November 2010, the University of Chicago Medicine became the first hospital in the US to provide all its 115 resident doctors in internal medicine with iPad tablet.

When surveyed in 2011, more than three out of four of the residents reported that portable computers allowed them to complete tasks quicker, permitting them to spend more time on direct patient care and update their medical knowledge, the Archives of Internal Medicine reported.

"Residents face a vast and increasing workload packed into tightly regulated hours," said study author Bhakti Patel, a pulmonary critical care fellow at the University of Chicago Medicine.

"They spend much of their time completing documentation and updating patient charts. This study indicates that personal mobile computers can streamline that process," Patel was quoted as saying in a university statement.

Almost 90 percent of the residents said they routinely used the iPads for clinical responsibilities, 78 percent felt it made them more efficient, and 68 percent reported that it averted patient care delays.

Source-IANS