10 reasons why every healthcare professional should have a Tablet PC
The Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC is a powerful and versatile tool that lets healthcare professionals be as productive as possible when they're away from their desk. The Tablet PC is especially useful for mobile professionals who, until now, worked with a combination of sticky notes, mobile devices, and planners. Those days are over. Here are 10 reasons why a healthcare professional should have a Tablet PC.
Uses Microsoft's Most Advanced Operating System
Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is a superset of Windows XP Professional so it provides the power of Windows XP with no sacrifices. Tablet PC Edition has the full capabilities of Windows XP Professional, plus additional features for tablet pen–based computing. And, because it uses the Windows operating system, Tablet PC will run Windows XP–compatible applications.
This is a full-function, mobile information worker device. It has all the computing power you need, great screen real-estate and wireless network connectivity to serve up patient information (documents, images, audio, video and anything else your work requires) when and where you need it.
Extends the Way You Work with Your PC
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition lets you interact with your PC in a more natural way by incorporating the convenient and intuitive aspects of pen and paper into the PC experience. Using a tablet pen and Tablet PC Input Panel, you can write directly on the screen and save your notes in your own handwriting—or convert them to typed text for use in other applications. The pen can also handle common mouse and keyboard tasks like opening applications, selecting text, and displaying menus. Or, if you prefer, you can still use a mouse or keyboard with Tablet PC.
The Tablet PC offers busy healthcare professionals a full array of data-input options to better meet each user’s skills and comfort in using a computer. The natural interaction between pen and screen more closely mimics many work flow processes normally performed on paper. Advanced hand-writing and speech recognition tools let users interact more naturally with their device.
Allows you to work from Anywhere
Tablet PC provides everything you expect in a mobile PC, but in a form that allows you to be productive in more situations—at your desk, in the hallway, at a meeting, or on the go. Tablet PC comes in two basic forms: the "convertible," with an integrated keyboard, and the ultra-slim "slate tablet," which has innovative docking solutions for easy access to the keyboard while at your desk. Tablet PC supports grab-and-go removal from a docking station and has a fast resume-from-standby time. These capabilities, combined with wireless network support, give you greater mobility and immediate access to the full power of your PC.
Healthcare workers are perhaps the epitome of mobile information worker professionals. They move room to room, corridor to corridor, floor to floor, institution to institution all the while accessing, interpreting and documenting information. They need devices that move with them while being connected to enterprise and critical data.
Take All Your Notes Electronically
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition comes with Microsoft Windows Journal, a note-taking utility that lets you create and organize your handwritten notes. Windows Journal makes it easy to capture the text and drawings you would normally create using pen and paper. Advanced handwriting recognition technology lets you search your handwritten notes to quickly find what you need.
The Tablet PC form factor allows more natural interactions between the user and the device (see #2). It is also much less intrusive (and much more like a paper chart) during interactions with patients and family members. In addition, its advanced multimedia capabilities make it an ideal adjunct for patient education and other types of instruction and communication in the clinical setting.
Lets you collaborate Easily and Effectively
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition lets you integrate electronic "ink" into your everyday business applications. Download the Microsoft Office XP Pack for Tablet PC, and you can use ink with core Office XP applications. You can add ink comments in Microsoft Word version 2002 documents, emphasize key points using ink during Microsoft PowerPoint® version 2002 presentations, and write and send ink e-mail with Microsoft Outlook® version 2002—all in your own handwriting. You can share these handwritten documents with other PC users, regardless of whether they have a Tablet PC or not.
You can easily append and edit important documents, images and other kinds of information to facilitate communication and enhance understanding of clinical data used in education, consultation, or referrals.
Personalize Your Experience
Using Tablet and Pen Settings controls, you can customize your Tablet PC: calibrate your pen, optimize your Tablet PC for left- or right-handed operation, and program the hardware buttons of your Tablet PC to complete specific actions, such as opening an application or changing screen orientation from landscape to portrait.
The Tablet PC adapts to the user and becomes an important extension of the busy healthcare professional’s need to communicate, collaborate, and compute.
Extends Your Applications with Digital Ink Handwriting
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is a powerful platform and the foundation for a new generation of applications with pen and ink capabilities. For example, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition has powerful but simple ink controls and application programming interfaces (APIs). These APIs allow software developers to extend existing applications with pen and ink capabilities and to develop new applications using this technology.
Coupled with information worker solutions from Microsoft and our partners, the Tablet PC offers busy healthcare professionals data-input options and powerful applications to improve productivity as well as the potential to improve the quality of care being delivered.
Deploys and Manages Easily
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition includes the advanced deployment technologies and policies included in Windows XP Professional, making it easy to deploy and manage Tablet PCs in the corporate environment.
With healthcare IT budgets always under constraint, IT professionals seek solutions that are easy to implement and manage. Hardware and software costs are but a fraction of the total cost of ownership. IT professionals therefore look for solutions that are secure, reliable, and intuitive to minimize costs associated with maintenance and training.
Provides a Global Business Solution
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is localized into English, German, French, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), and Korean. In the future, more languages will become available.
Healthcare is global and multilingual.
Helps protect yourcritical data
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition offers all of the protection features of Windows XP Professional, including the Encrypting File System (EFS) security feature and the access control feature. Tablet PC also supports secure log on to a network using a single CTRL+ALT+DEL hardware button.
In healthcare, the security and integrity of data is paramount.
Dr. Bill Crounse, M.D., is the global healthcare industry manager for the Microsoft Corporation. Dr. Crounse is responsible for working with industry partners and healthcare organizations to help them benefit from using Microsoft technologies and solutions. Prior to joining Microsoft, Dr. Crounse was vice president and chief medical information officer for Overlake Hospital Medical Center and the Overlake Venture Center in Bellevue, Wash.
