Monday, January 15, 2007
Apple iPhone Probably Won't Work Well for Healthcare Professionals
The announcement of the new Apple iPhone (http://www.apple.com/iphone/) has created a lot of excitement in the marketplace, but unfortunately it won't be very useful for most health care professionals as it will only operate proprietary Apple software and will only work on one wireless network initially. Yes, I love my iPod and am infatuated with the various photographs of the new phone, however how useful will it be without all the various programs such as ePocrates, medical calculators, reference books, etc., that I use every day in clinical practice? Probably not much, unfortunately. Initially developers thought it would support Mac OS X applications, however it appears there will be NO 3rd party application support at all! For example, you won't even be able to synchronize with your Outlook calendar, no support for Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, etc., and no medical applications. I wish the news was better, but this looks like a very expensive toy without much practical use in the medical field. Hopefully, other companies will be able to replicate the innovative design and interface of the iPhone to offer support for the thousands of Palm and Windows Mobile applications that are available. Time will tell.
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4 comments:
Has apple definitively announced no palm apps on their platform? I am heading to my 3rd year clerkships and am thinking about what handheld to get. That iphone sure does look nice, but would be rather expensive w/o epocrates and the calculators.
At this point, there are no plans for Palm-based or Windows applications for the iPhone, which severely limits its usefulness for medical use.
Epocrates extends a warm thank you to the medical community for helping drive Apple’s decision to support development of Epocrates products for the iPhone. Based on your high demand and Epocrates track record, it was announced today that Epocrates has been working with Apple to make its clinical content available on the iPhone operating system.
In the meantime, you can currently access Epocrates free online drug reference at m.epocrates.com with an Internet or WiFi connection.
**If you have already installed Apple’s iPhone or iTouch January update, you can now add an Epocrates Online shortcut to your home screen. To do this visit m.epocrates.com, click on the + sign at the bottom of the page. In the menu that appears, touch “Add to home screen”. Enter a name for the icon, then touch “Add” in the upper right corner.
To learn more, please visit www.epocrates.com
Best wishes!
The Epocrates Team
The wait is over! We are excited to announce that Epocrates Rx software for iPhone is now available for download! Epocrates Rx allows for instant access to drug Information, pill ID, drug Interactions and reference formulary Information - all without the need for Internet connectivity!
Taking advantage of the iPhones computing power and visual capabilities, this free drug and formulary reference features a drug identifier tool that helps doctors determine a patient’s existing medication with a physical description (e.g., round, blue and scored). As many doctors have said – no more mystery pills!
Epocrates designed specifically for the sleek and user-friendly interface of the iPhone platform taking advantage of the innovative interface and computing power. Be one of the first to see it at http://www.epocrates.com/products/rx/iphone.html.
Best Wishes,
The Epocrates Team!
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