While the media will be focused today on Apple’s Tablet announcement,  I’d like to remind HealthBlog readers that there’s nothing new about Tablet devices.  I have been evangelizing the use of Tablet PCs in health for nearly a decade.  And over the last several years, particularly with the release of Windows Vista and now Windows 7, the Tablet PC value proposition for healthcare providers just gets better and better.

First of all, the devices themselves are better.  And, healthcare providers have more choices than ever before (I have four Tablet PCs on my desk right now).  There are excellent Tablets available from most major manufacturers including ones made expressly for clinicians such as the devices offered by Motion Computing, Panasonic, Tablet Kiosk and other vendors.

Tablet PC Solutions Mimic Paper Attributes
"While many view physicians as being technology averse, a tablet PC-based e-forms solution that mimics their existing processes can be the stepping stone that finally eases your physicians and your healthcare facility into the EMR age. Furthermore, by allowing your doctors to maintain the processes that are familiar to them, "meaningful use" of EMR technology can be realized at an accelerated pace."