I don’t recall who was involved in the debate, but I mentioned the iPad would be ideal for use in medical facilities.
Said individuals stated I was stupid, mostly because iPads couldn’t be autoclaved.
I smugly enter the following into evidence:
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/10/22/ipads-join-tongue-depressors-and-latex-gloves-as-a-hospital-fixt/
Of course. All Apple products are entirely antiseptic. (Or have been ever since all taint of Woz has been purged from the company.)
I want one 
I’m typing this on my new iPad! Life is good, I had to get one for business reasons. Sometimes I love my job.
I didn’t see anything about how they handle sterilization, though.
The invalid assumption is that every nook and cranny of Medicine requires it. I’m sure they survive a wipe down of Medical Grade Lysol just fine.
My most recent trip to the Doctor was for an inflamed knee I twisted while running for my train. The whole process (sign in, X-ray, Orthopedic consult) could have used an iPad…heck, it was all computerized anyway.
Or 70% alcohol. Really, now… it’s not like they’re being inserted in your abdominal cavity. Yet.
Heck, seven years ago Palm and HP handhelds were already popular for use in clinical context among some segments of the health professions. The iPad is quite a good fit.
One word: Bluetooth. 
They’re cleaned, when needed, with Cavi-Wipes. They’re not taken into the OR, they’re being carried around by residents making rounds on the floor. They don’t have to be sterile any more than the IV poles, vitals cart or anything else your nurse brings into your hospital room.
Which brings me to my point. Why aren’t they making these available to nurses?! We do 98% of the charting and patient education, and the doctors get the fun toys which would make that a thousand times easier? No fair. pout
Doctors and nurses can’t be autoclaved either, yet they manage to function in hospitals.
my favorite multi-billion-dollar corporation can beat up your favorite multi-billion-dollar corporation.
My favorite multi-billion-dollar corporation is the Mafia. I’d like to see yours try it.
Mine’s the Catholic church. (not really)
Were all fucked now…bet they won’t use condoms either
Thanks, guys. I assumed there was less rigorous sterilization for stuff that isn’t used in the OR, but, then I thought it odd that the inability to autoclave would have been mentioned earlier as a drawback.
Still, though, I’d like it if there was some wipe down of those things WhyNot mentions. Of couse, she may not be counting that as sterilization
Nah, Cavi-Wipes don’t sterilize (which means to kill ALL of the microorganisms on a surface), but they do disinfect (which means to kill lots, but not all of the microorganisms.)
They’re like the disinfecting wipes you can buy in the grocery store, but they kill more varieties of microbes.
Missed the Edit:
And yes, those things I mentioned, in most hospitals I’ve worked in, get wiped down at least once a shift. At one hospital, we were supposed to wipe the computers on wheels (we can’t call them COWS anymore because it upset patients who thought we were referring to them as cows, not the computers, but I forget what we’re supposed to call them now) down after each time they were in a patient’s room. But I’ll tell ya…absolutely no one did it unless they were in a room with Contact, Droplet or Airborne Precautions, meaning the patient has something icky that’s readily communicable.
You must be a joy to be in a relationship with.
mmm
I am, we don’t have religious debates. 
But if a doctor was bringing in paper and a clipboard instead of an iPad, would they need to sterilize THAT?