Doctors improve usefulness of iOS devices in the ER with Box.net
A group of more than 60 doctors at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., are now sharing procedures, journal articles and conversations through a unique use of Box.net's file-sharing services.
A Wired article states that the system has become a valuable tool for doctors, who count on it for providing immediate access to critical information. Dr. Iltifat Husain (at right), who edits the iMedicalApps website, found the medical center's Box.net system to be a valuable assistant back in October when he was first testing it.
Husain was offsite at an emergency room in Greensboro, N.C., when he needed to perform a procedure that he hadn't done recently. He pulled out his iPhone, launched Box.net and received a quick refresher on how to do an abdominal paracentesis.
While the same information is also available on intranet workstations in the hospital emergency rooms, Husain saved valuable time looking it up on his iPhone. He noted that, "In the ER, the faster I can do something, the more time I can spend with other patients."
The system at the medical center also encourages discussion of research articles, so it's been a helpful learning tool for residents. Husain says, "You can literally have free-flowing comments using Box, which really has the potential to change the way medical education is done."
