When I used to work for the UK National Health Service, I encouraged doctors and nurses to use mobile devices. But that was 15 years ago, and the devices available only had about two hours of battery life and weighed a ton. In other words, my IT colleagues and I were a bit overly optimistic about the mobile devices of the time being up to the task of supporting clinicians’ needs.
So it’s great to be able to stand up in front of health professionals today and genuinely say that we now have a number of clinical-grade devices available. They come in all shapes and sizes. Many can be sanitized and can be dropped without damaging them. And they often have a long battery life that lasts the length of a clinician’s shift. The work Intel has done over the last few years on improving device power usage and efficiency has helped drive the advancements in clinical-grade devices.
It is very clear that each role in health has different needs. And as you can see from the following real-world examples, today’s clinical-grade devices are up to the task whatever the role.
Wit-Gele Kruis nurses are using Windows 8 Dell Venue 11 Pro tablets to help them provide better care to elderly patients at home. The Belgian home-nursing organization selected the tablets based on feedback from the nurses who would be using them. “We opted for Dell mainly because of better battery life compared to the old devices,” says Marie-Jeanne Vandormael, Quality Manager, Inspection Service, at Wit-Gele Kruis, Limburg. “The new Dell tablets last at least two days without needing a charge. Our old devices lasted just four hours. Also, the Dell tablets are lightweight and sit nicely in the hand, and they have a built-in electronic ID smartcard reader, which we use daily to confirm our visits.”
In northern California, Dr. Brian Keeffe, a cardiologist at Marin General Hospital loves that he can use the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 as either a tablet or a desktop computer depending on where he is and the task at hand (watch video below).
When he’s with patients, Dr. Keeffe uses it in its tablet form. “With my Surface, I am able to investigate all of the clinical data available to me while sitting face-to-face with my patients and maintaining eye contact,” says Dr. Keeffe.
And when he wants to use his Surface Pro 3 as a desktop computer, Dr. Keeffe pops it into the Surface docking station, so he can be connected to multiple monitors, keyboards, mice, and other peripherals. ”In this setup, I can do all of my charting, voice recognition, and administrative work during the day on the Surface,” explains Dr. Keeffe.
These are just two examples of the wide range of devices on the market today that meet the needs of different roles in health. So if you’re an IT professional recommending mobile devices to your clinicians, unlike me 15 years ago, you can look them in the eye and tell them you have a number of great clinical-grade options to show them.
Gareth Hall is Director, Mobility and Devices, WW Health at Microsoft
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