Health care providers use smartphones, PDAs in patient care
By staff
iHealthBeat
January 30, 2009
An increasing number of physicians are relying on smartphones and other handheld devices to provide care to patients, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Health care providers can use such devices to view and manipulate X-rays and other images, and access pharmaceutical libraries.
According to a survey late last year by Manhattan Research, 54% of physicians own smartphones or other handheld devices.
In addition, more medical schools are requiring students to use PDAs.
Since 2007, more than 170 smartphone applications directed at health care professionals have been developed.
Gregory Janos -- a pediatric cardiologist and medical director for children's services at Sutter Memorial Hospital in California -- said privacy laws could hinder certain potential smartphone advances, such as the ability to send patient data over wireless networks (Calvan, Sacramento Bee, 1/30).
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