Bookmark and Share PrintE-mail
  The Mobility Blog
by John Farrell


Does Apple have a healthcare agenda?

Posted on Fri, May 22, 2009 - 11:46 am

Watching the number of doctors using an iPhone double between 2008 and 2009—coupled with the less than impressive launch of the Blackberry Storm—was enough to quiet RIM devotees who insisted that no matter what Apple does, the iPhone “is a consumer device.” But as Apple’s new iPhone readies to go head-to-head with the forthcoming Palm Pre, Blackberry Storm 2, and Nokia N97, it could be Apple has more in mind for healthcare than just the ubiquitous smartphone—like a touch screen tablet, for starters.

With the Palm Pre set to launch on June 6, and an updated iPhone 3.0 with support for Bluetooth-enabled medical peripheral devices coming out next month as well, there should be plenty of smartphone stats kicking around, and plenty of arguments over what’s best for healthcare. The pre-launch buzz surrounding the Palm Pre suggests it may very well give Apple’s iPhone a run for its money. But it’s still early to say.

Meanwhile, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster thinks Apple is working on a device that would have a 7- to 10-inch touch screen and sell between $500 and $700. The gadget would fill the gap between Apple's $400 iPod Touch and $1,000 MacBook, according to an Apple Insider report.

As an article in InformationWeek points out: “If Apple is working on such a device, then it could find a solid market. Despite their cramped keyboards and frustratingly tiny touch pads, netbooks have become the hottest-selling segment of the computer market, accounting for nearly a fifth of all laptops shipped in the first quarter of this year, according to DisplaySearch.”

Ezra Gottheil, an analyst for Technology Business Research who also believes Apple is working on a touch-screen tablet, told InformationWeek the one item Apple would need is support for a full-size keyboard. The keyboard would not have to be attached to the device, but could be used through a Bluetooth wireless connection—say, the kind of connection that the updated iPhone 3.0 will sport, offering support for Bluetooth-enabled medical peripheral devices, like Johnson & Johnson’s LifeScan glucometer.

All speculation surrounding Apple’s launch of a tablet points, once again, to the consumer market. But, given the iPhone’s popularity among physicians—and the enormous potential of the health IT market as health reform gets underway—I have to wonder if Apple has bigger plans for healthcare, and whether the company can compete with those who dominate the field.


Comments

Posted by tim on Fri, May 29, 2009 - 07:25 pm.

John, I hate to throw cold water on this, but there are number of barriers to adoption in health care for a rumored Apple tablet.

The first barrier to adoption includes the basic requirements for any computing device at the point of care. The first requirement is a 12 hour battery life so you can use the device throughout a full shift. Phones seem to be the only device category to deliver on this so far.

The point of care can get messy, so devices need to be water resistant to prevent the ingress of patient fluids (I'll let you use your imagination here). Similarly, or perhaps after the fact, the device must be able to be liberally wiped down with hospital-grade disinfectants. This requires the device be made out of materials that are resistant to the deleterious effects of these disinfectants (e.g., they tend to make plastics brittle and break) and the device must again be water resistant so liquid disinfectants don't seep into devices and cause shorts.

Finally, devices at the point of care have to be rugged. Computing devices need to be ruggedized to withstand repeated drops from 3 or 4 feet onto linoleum covered concrete.

The above covers the basic "health care hurdle" for an Apple tablet -- none of which the device is likely to provide. Current tablets based on the Intel C5 spec meet more of the requirements than ever before, but lack sufficient battery power and are too big and heavy to use as tablets.

There are currently two use models at the point of care, 1) a clinician carried device for alarms, alerts, workflow automation and communications, and 2) a portable computer with full size display and keyboard -- typically a computer on wheels (COWs) used for charting and other applications that deman a full screen user interface. This segmentation is driven by workflow and the current limitations of technology.

Popular clinician carried devices include wireless VoIP phones, smart phones and PDAs. Because current tablets miss the mark, they're deployed on COWs, which sort of obviates their "tablet" advantages.

A while back an interesting tablet was announced from Emano Tec. Like the rumored Apple tablet, this ruggedized device has a ~7" diagonal touch screen (and fits in a lab coat pocket), water resistance, ability to withstand hospital disinfectants, and a 12 hour battery life. This the most impressive health care tablet you've likely never heard of.

The barrier faced by Emano Tec was the display size, which is too small for a PDA user interface and too big for a standard EMR user interface. Sadly, none of the EMR vendors were interested in investing the $$$ to redesign their user interface for Emano Tec's screen size. Consequently, we had a great tablet device, but there is no software to run on it.

Will EMR vendors redesign their user interfaces for an Apple tablet? Maybe. But if they don't don't expect to much Apple tablet adoption beyond physician personal use.

It is clear to me that Apple has a health care agenda, but I hope for their sake, they're not counting on a horizontal market tablet. Apple's iPhone 3.0 OS (with some changes to the hardware to meet health care requirements) has tremendous potential as an adjunct to medical devices and a tool for physicians, caregivers and patients alike.