August 2005

More than just a 'wow' factor

Tablet PCs are creating a buzz in health care offices

by David A. Jackson, DC, RCS CEO

When RCS (Research & Clinical Science) held its first training session on the campus of the University of California-Irvine recently, doctors were impressed by the International Scientific Advisory panel, enthused about contributing to the most important research project ever conducted in chiropractic, and excited about the potential to generate huge numbers of new patients.

But what really “wowed” them was the Tablet PC they received as part of the RCS package.

Just a few short years ago, DCs were installing their first computers and making the switch from a pad and pen to a monitor and screen. Technology helped streamline just about every task in the chiropractic office, from submitting insurance claims to tracking patient referrals. But there are times when most of us long for the “good old days” when we could jot down a note about a patient or carry our travel cards with us from room to room (without looking like technology has completely left us in the dust).

Thanks to the Tablet PC, we now have the ability to combine state-of-the-art computer technology with the convenience of a traditional pad and pen.

It’s a technological advance that’s been quickly adopted by the medical community, with tablet PCs popping up in hospitals and MD offices around the country. For instance, Advanced Specialty Care, a Danbury, Conn.-based, multi-specialty group practice, said that switching to tablet PCs helped its doctors “become more efficient and improve patient care.”

Managing partner Richard Lipton, MD noted out in an online article for Mobile Health Data: “The main appeal of the Tablet PCs was that they enabled a direct interface with patients. The problem with our old desktop PCs was that you had to turn away from the patient to use them.”

The MDs and nurses at Associated Physicians for Women health care clinic came to the same conclusion.

“Patients receive more personalized care. Rather than have a doctor flip through a chart, (the Table PC) is actually allowing the providers to have more eye contact and deliver more personalized care than before,” said Vern Turney, the clinic’s practice administrator/IT director.

In a Reno Gazette-Journal article earlier this year, author Brandy Dela Vega examined the use of technology in a Reno spine-care clinic and noted a few other advantages of using Tablet PCs. One of the most important benefits, the article pointed out, is note taking.

“With the tablet, patient notation is far more complete,” one of the clinic’s partners, James Lynch, MD, said. “A record can’t be misplaced like a paper one and it can be accessed by more than one person at the same time.”

Dela Vega added that, thanks to the Tablet PC, Dr. Lynch no longer dictates notes which have to be transcribed, and the office no longer has to maintain rooms filled with medical records. All of this increased efficiency translates into lower overhead for the doctors.

DCs are finding the same advantages, particularly when they use specialized chiropractic software such as the RCS program. The Tablet PC replaces all handwritten notes, without the need to pound away on a keyboard or have a CA transcribe lengthy notes.  It streamlines office procedures and results in notes and reports that can stand up to the closest scrutiny in court or by a board.  It allows the staff to focus on more important tasks rather than spending up to two hours a day pulling and filing travel cards.

Motion Computing, Inc., manufacturers of one of the most highly rated Tablet PC -- and supplier of all RCS equipment -- explains that cost savings is one of the primary reasons doctors are switching to Tablet PCs.

A case in point is that of Dr. Kyle Oh, who runs a sports medicine practice in Seattle.

“Since becoming a paperless office more than two years ago and deploying Motion Computing Tablet PCs in November 2002,” the company writes, “Dr. Oh’s profits are up 35 percent. This profit increase can be attributed to several factors, but one is the voice recognition component of the Tablet PC. Like many doctors, Dr. Oh used to spend two to three hours each day in dictation. Because the voice recognition capabilities turn his words into text automatically, he now spends less than a half hour per day doing dictation. This has resulted in a 25 percent increase in the number of patients his practice can see.”

Voice recognition is only one of the amazing capabilities of Tablet PCs. For DCs, one particularly exciting feature is the integrated Fingerprint Reader. Patients merely press their finger to the screen and their records are instantly retrieved, making the job incredibly fast and easy.

For RCS DCs, the Tablets have made the data-collection process a breeze, and added an immeasurable “wow” factor to their practices. It’s amazing how many patients and research volunteers have never seen this technology before. They take one look at the doctor jotting down a note on a Tablet, and, frankly, they’re impressed. Suddenly, they’re not dealing with just any old chiropractor. They’re dealing with a scientifically savvy DC who keeps up with the latest advances in technology and health care.

The only real disadvantage to the Tablet PC is price. A standard unit costs between $1,500 and $3,000, with optional note-taking software and other extras sending the grand total even higher. Probably one of the reasons RCS doctors are so excited is that the Tablet PC is included in the cost of the program, along with a dedicated server and tons of support material. Getting involved in the most exciting new program to be offered in the chiropractic profession is great. But getting a Tablet PC is a bonus that brings a particularly big smile to their faces.

(Dr. Jackson is chief executive officer of Research and Clinical Science -- RCS -- a private sector research program exploring issues of subluxation correction and chiropractic care as they relate to health and wellness. Previously, he served as president of the Chiropractic Leadership Alliance and Creating Wellness Alliance and was owner/operator of several private practice offices in California and Idaho that specialized in high-volume, family wellness-based care. For a free, no-obligation information packet about RCS, call 800-909-1354 or 480-303-1694, or visit the RCS website at www.rcsprogram.com. Doctors of chiropractic may log on to a special limited-access area of the site by using the username DC2 and password RESEARCH.)