opinion
Inside look at physicians' embrace of tablet computers
■ Connected coverage - selected articles on trends, challenges and controversies in the changing world of medicine
Posted Dec. 26, 2011
Connected Coverage
Selected articles on trends, challenges and controversies in the changing world of medicine.
» More installments
By any measure, doctors are buying tablet computers at a rate far greater than the general population. Tablet computers haven't faced the skepticism that greeted electronic medical records, and, unlike EMRs, they haven't required federal programs offering cash bonuses to nudge doctors to adopt them. Instead, their growth has been on a track similar to that of smartphones, which are used by eight of 10 doctors. Why are some physicians taking to tablets? And will that continue? American Medical News has followed physicians' interest in tablet computers to try to find the answers to those questions.
Older doctors embracing tablets faster than younger counterparts
Veteran physicians who might have shied away from smartphones are seeing more utility in larger tablet devices. One factor: tablets' larger screen and keypad size may make them easier for older physicians to use than a smartphone. Read more
Doctors cite ease of use in rapid adoption of tablet computers
Why did tablet computer adoption by physicians go from nearly zero to 27% in one year's time? Because physicians found the new generation of tablets simple to learn and use. Read more
Health care embraces the iPad: Doctors jump on new technology
Tablet computers had been tried -- and discarded -- for more than a decade until Apple's iPad popularized them. Hospitals and medical schools are giving them out to students and residents, signaling that tablets are expected to be around for a long while. Read more
