To Tablet or Not to Tablet: Is That the Right Question?

There are so many tablet computer options on the market today that there is a good chance nobody in a meeting would notice if you were to bring a clay tablet, an Etch-A-Sketch, or an aspirin tablet. Odds are people would look at it, shrug their shoulders while muttering “cool,” and inquire if you knew the password so they too could get on the wireless with their tablet.

While physical tablet computers have been around since the 1980s, it wasn’t until 2001 that tablets came to be widely adopted in the workplace — mainly as tablet PC devices running a touch- and pen-sensitive version of Microsoft Windows. Several more tablet designs were introduced by hardware manufacturers like Apple, Nokia, Samsung, and HP throughout the decade but with limited commercial success. The common thread was tablets were state-of-the-art and were mainly used for commercial applications at work.

Then in 2010 Apple introduced the iPad, a consumer device. In just a few months, its adoption transformed the tablet, portable, and wireless technology landscapes.

Arguably, in fact, it transformed the relationship between corporate IT and consumer IT. Whereas it used to be that workplace technology trickled down to consumer technology, the trend abruptly reversed. Company executives and early adopter staff were now more state-of-the-art than their IT departments. iPad, iPhone, and Droid devices were now placing enormous pressures on IT staff, IT budgets, and company security policies to embrace the new consumer technology.

This new trend has a name: the “consumerization of IT.” Paired with the also-recent adoption en masse of social/visual media and, for better or for worse, staff’s wanting to constantly be connected, corporate IT is now forced to incorporate consumer devices and technologies that just a few years ago weren’t allowed in the workplace.

So now, insofar as tablets are concerned, multiple hardware manufacturers leveraging multiple designs using multiple operating systems have furiously released more than 100 tablet models in the past 18 months in the hopes that the market will adopt something — like throwing spaghetti on the wall to see what sticks.

This makes for an unbelievably frustrating business standardization process. Developers of EMR software are just barely getting a grip on which tablet types will be winners in 2011 and going into 2012. They are not willing to allocate large development budgets for tablet platforms, interfaces, or form factors that will disappear overnight in an extremely volatile market.

Mindboggling are the tablet selection choices for your medical practice with the “winning” set of features: ergonomics, battery life, remote capabilities, EMR application compatibilities, and, above all, staying power.

Should you get the Apple iPad, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy, or ASUS Eee Pad Transformer? What tablets will run your EMR application? Will the virtual keyboard hide half the screen and thereby render data entry annoyingly obtuse? What about HIPAA and wireless security?

Let’s quickly delve deeper and examine these topics.

Tablet Interfaces

There are four main interfaces, or operating systems, used in tablets today:

1. Apple iOS: current version 4.3 with version 5.x being released fall 2011.
2. Google Android: current version 2.x with version 3.x being released now.
3. HP webOS: current version 2.x with version 3.x being released summer 2011.
4. Microsoft Windows: current version 7 with version 8 being released fall 2012.

Describing each interface is beyond the scope of this article. What’s important to know is that each has its pros and cons and must be weighed against how your medical practice will use them and what your current or future EMR natively supports. Your EMR requirements and the tablet interface must be aligned properly.

Tablet Design and Form Factors

Some industry pundits predict that the tablet will become the technology of choice for doctors. It is the electronic counterpart to paper charts, it’s easy to use, it’s portable, and it has a long battery life. As a presentation device or for browsing, it has no equal. However, others report that heavy word processing or data entry is not very efficient on the tablet itself due to the touchscreen keyboard, which is too kludgy for anything beyond rudimentary notes.

When selecting a tablet, be sure to investigate its design and its form factor. Look for the types of accessories, add-ons, and docking capabilities it supports. External imaging, scanning, or input ports — will it support Dragon Naturally Speaking Medical Edition, print wirelessly, or remote into your EMR software on your Terminal Server? Will the aggregate of accessories associated with the tablet you have to lug around eclipse a single device like a normal compact tablet PC with built-in keyboard, microphone, and flip screen?

Cloud, Client/Server, or Hybrid?

Of extreme importance in your selection of a tablet is what you’re going to connect to. For example, if your EMR is in the cloud and it supports the Safari browser, then the iPad should be your obvious choice. If your EMR only works on Windows desktops or Terminal Server, and your client/server network is physically at your practice, then a Windows-based tablet would be recommended.

You have to gather and determine what all of the software requirements are before you undertake the step of purchasing a new tablet. Does the hospital you work with support the iPad in terms of connectivity to their servers? Will the imaging, pharmacy, or fax applications you need to install work on Android? Are the wireless attributes of your tablet secure and HIPAA-compliant?

Think long and hard before you undertake purchasing a tablet because it’s “cool” and “trendy” lest you end up with a gadget at your workplace that excels at email and browsing but little else.

Staying Power

Gartner Research estimates tablet sales will be about 100 million units in 2012. In the same year, Gartner expects PC sales to be about 400 million units. So while this new form factor represents significant market penetration, the jury is still out on whether tablets will overtake the desktop computer completely. Select a tablet that runs on one of the four major interfaces described above. Investigate the form factor that will fit your office workflow. Choose the tablet that will work best with your EMR. Avoid “consumerizing” your business with trendy gadgets, and your tablet purchase will have staying power.

The Bottom Line

The right question is not whether to get a tablet; instead, the question should be how do you intend to use your tablet and will it bolster or detract you and your staff from being productive? Trying to align your tablet with an EMR that does not natively support it is like trying to insert a round peg into a square hole. Go back to basics and use best practices in your business endeavor. Select the EMR software first, and then build the hardware around it, including tablets. Your practice will then be able to fully leverage that tablet purchase in the meeting you are attending while others are monkeying around with their Etch-A-Sketches.