With the recent release of the new Apple iPad and the increasing need to take their work on the go, healthcare professionals everywhere are taking advantage of all the innovative aspects that the iPad has to offer. With BYOD and the increasing need for mobility strategies and network infrastructure security, this iPad craze really means one thing: more work for the healthcare CIO.
So, once a healthcare CIO puts iPads in the hands of their payer or provider staff, the question is: What apps should they download? Below are the 20 most sought-after medical iPad applications that all medical professionals with iPads should (must) have, based on a list compiled by iMedicalApps.com, as well as the Apple App Store statistics, deeming these medical applications highest rated and most downloaded.
1. ICD 10 Codes
2. Blausen Human Atlas
3. Visual DX Mobile
4. Procedures Consultant
5. OsiriX or eFilm
6. My Medical
7. MediMath Medical Calculator
8. Pocket Medical Spanish
9. LabGear
10. MyHealth Checklist
11. MedAbbreviations
12. Healthx
13. FOCUS Pocket Guide
14. Dropbox
15. Black Bag
16. Drugs & Medications
17. Papers
18. WebMD
19. Code Check Pro
20. Memo Medical Notebook
Medical professionals want to be able to do their jobs quicker and more efficiently and iPad applications, like those mentioned, answer their questions and access their patients’ data in ways they never thought possible. For this reason, many healthcare CIOs have been challenged with the task of distributing and/or securing iPads on their IT infrastructure.
“Members of our medical staff have said that they love using iPads applications because of the constant connectedness that iPads offer. We don’t currently give out iPads to our staff—they are put on our infrastructure through BYOD— but we plan to do so on July 1. We plan to have at least 60 percent of our staff use them clinically at the start of our next fiscal year,” said Patrick Wilson, department information security officer at Contra Costa County Health Services. Once they completely secure the data theft and other safety principals, they will move forward with their iPad distribution, as those security issues are their biggest concern, Wilson added.
Payer organizations face the same security challenges as providers when it comes to iPad use, but many CIOs in that space feel that the applications available are worth the risk. Robert Schleichert, associate vice president of information systems at AultCare, said that their iPad implementation plan is currently in the RND stage; he confirmed that iPads are the future of the healthcare payer industry.
IT vendors have noticed the significant increase in the need, and desire, for iPads in the healthcare space and are working diligently to provide the best solutions to all their infrastructure and security needs. In a conversation with Mark Hanson, director of strategic accounts for healthcare at Fortinet, he said: “I definitely think those iPad applications are absolutely worth the risks. At HIMSS 2012, Aetna, for example, got to see their chairman of the board do a presentation on mobile applications. This insurance provider is actually spending over a half a billion dollars on building and purchasing mobile applications companies for healthcare.”
The patients are more and more efficient at understanding what their ailments are; so healthcare professionals have to be able to enable their physicians to understand the latest information on specific problems their patients are facing. IT companies like Fortinet are stepping in to integrate and prevent those devices from infecting the networks and spreading that infection. “Having security-based Wi-Fi devices, like what we offer, are key requirements for healthcare CIOs today when implementing iPad application solutions,” said Hanson.
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