# iPad: I told you so! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 23, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075 "2010-10-23T04:18:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075/21 "2010-10-25T15:09:48Z")
What’s all the excitement? I don’t recall any brouhaha when doctors started toting laptops. Last time I was in an ER, pretty much every physician had a laptop. Some were using them in tablet mode and others just used the traditional open the lid and type method. Compared to anything with a keyboard, an iPad should be a cinch to clean. ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075/22 "2010-10-25T15:13:41Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > But if a doctor was bringing in paper and a clipboard instead of an iPad, would they need to sterilize THAT? And how often do they autoclave the doctors and nurses themselves? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075/23 "2010-10-25T16:02:51Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > What’s all the excitement? I don’t recall any brouhaha when doctors started toting laptops. Last time I was in an ER, pretty much every physician had a laptop. Some were using them in tablet mode and others just used the traditional open the lid and type method. > > Compared to anything with a keyboard, an iPad should be a cinch to clean. That’s true. My doctor is part of a major medical practice comprising hundreds of doctors of many specialties. Every single examining room has a PC, all networked together, so that the patient’s complete history can be accessed from any room. All doctor’s notes, prescriptions, etc., go into the computer files. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075/24 "2010-10-25T16:10:18Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > That’s true. My doctor is part of a major medical practice comprising hundreds of doctors of many specialties. Every single examining room has a PC, all networked together, so that the patient’s complete history can be accessed from any room. All doctor’s notes, prescriptions, etc., go into the computer files. Now consider the amount of time those workstations spend un-attended? I’m sure they’re hardened…aren’t they? Contrast that with a tablet device small and light enough that it just stays with the Doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075/25 "2010-10-25T16:19:53Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > 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. Hell, I knew someone who did some development work on the Newton for hospitals. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075/26 "2010-10-25T16:21:38Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Doctors and nurses can’t be autoclaved either They can’t? I have to go, uh, hide some. . . stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075/27 "2010-10-25T16:28:41Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > They can’t? I have to go, uh, hide some. . . stuff. You’re not going to be able to hide the smell. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075/28 "2010-10-25T16:29:57Z")
As long as I keep it sterile, there won’t be a smell. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075/29 "2010-10-25T17:18:08Z")
> [@Baracus](#): > > And how often do they autoclave the doctors and nurses themselves? Autoclaved, hell. I’d be happy if they washed their hands more often. (Yes, yes, I know there are signs and Purell everywhere. But I’ve spent a lot of time in hospitals in the last few months with nothing to do, just observing, and most of the staff \*still \*isn’t washing between each patient. And the doctors are way worse than the nurses.) ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075/30 "2010-10-25T17:59:08Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > Now consider the amount of time those workstations spend un-attended? I’m sure they’re hardened…aren’t they? > > Contrast that with a tablet device small and light enough that it just stays with the Doctor. I guess it depends on how much you trust password procedures. It’s never been the case in my experience that the doctor or nurse did not log out before leaving the room. Even I have a hard time looking at my own file because the computer is logged in so briefly. But granted, if everybody had tablet devices and carried them on their person, it would be even more secure. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075/31 "2010-10-25T19:59:47Z")
Problem: iPads and iPhones are not HIPAA compliant. My wife really, really wishes they were. She wants to use iPad for remote emails instead of her Blackberry. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075/32 "2010-10-25T21:59:16Z")
My husband works in the medical field (not a dr.) and has used computers for patient entry for years. His last job was in a nursing home (SNF) and they carried portable devices for entering patient information and treatment records. Each person in his department had their own that was networked to the desktops in the their department office. At his current job in a private practice he has a laptop for the same purpose. It’s interesting that iPads are not considered HIPPA compliant when these other devices are. (and believe me if they aren’t HIPPA compliant they would not have been used by my husband’s employers.) Granted he doesn’t have to worry as much about sterilization as a hospital would but it’s still a concern. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075/33 "2010-10-25T22:24:40Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > Problem: > iPads and iPhones are not HIPAA compliant. My wife really, really wishes they were. She wants to use iPad for remote emails instead of her Blackberry. Ask me in a few moniths, I’ll be studying HIPAA for my next job, I _suspect_: iPad checking your email from home: Not HIPAA compliant iPad using a WPA2/Radius network connection to view an intranet site using https://, probably demonstrably HIPAA compliant. I suspect that depends on the results of an audit. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075/34 "2010-10-25T22:41:02Z")
There is nothing about the iPad that makes in inherently not HIPAA compliant. Indeed, there is software specifically designed for HIPAA compliant use. It’s called Nimble. I don’t know, there may be others as well. [http://hipaanews.net/archives/2010/10/01/nimble-for-the-ipad-–-hipaa-compliant-answer-for-docs-on-the-go/](http://hipaanews.net/archives/2010/10/01/nimble-for-the-ipad-%E2%80%93-hipaa-compliant-answer-for-docs-on-the-go/) ETA: Yep. meridianEMR is another. [http://www.meridianemr.com/](http://www.meridianemr.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075/35 "2010-10-26T12:07:01Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > Ask me in a few moniths, I’ll be studying HIPAA for my next job, I _suspect_: > > iPad checking your email from home: Not HIPAA compliant > > iPad using a WPA2/Radius network connection to view an intranet site using https://, probably demonstrably HIPAA compliant. I suspect that depends on the results of an audit. All I know is that my wife’s legal department will not approve iPhones and iPads due to non-compliance. Since this is second-hand knowledge, I could be mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075/36 "2010-10-26T17:03:10Z")
[QUOTE=Maus Magill] All I know is that my wife’s legal department will not approve iPhones and iPads due to non-compliance. [/QUOTE] Some IT departments are brain-dead and part of their basic model for compliance is that the device has all of the current Windows service packs and patches. As that’s impossible on an iDevice, your iDevice is by definition not going to be compliant. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075/37 "2010-10-26T17:31:51Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > All I know is that my wife’s legal department will not approve iPhones and iPads due to non-compliance. > > Since this is second-hand knowledge, I could be mistaken. I’m sure you’re not mistaken. But I know from our lawyers they generally start all conversations with “No…” Doesn’t mean it’ll always be that way. There was a time when folks didn’t want them there Pee Cee’s in the workplace, the mainframe worked Just Fine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipad-i-told-you-so/558075.md?page=1)