Could iPhones one day be as ubiquitous in the black bags of doctors as stethoscopes?
Dr. Steven Schwartz uses his iPhone to identify drugs that patients are taking, to show patients instructional diagrams or videos, to write electronic prescriptions and to look up health information for patients, according to the Washington Post.
Other doctors use smart phones to look up drug interactions, view X-rays or MRI scans — even to stream music from the Internet during surgeries. And doctors increasingly are choosing iPhones over other smart phones  for their graphic, audio, video and memory capabilities, the Post said.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
Nationally, 64 percent of doctors use smart phones in their practices, according to a survey done by market research firm Manhattan Research, the Post said.
Dr. Schwartz, a family practitioner at Georgetown University Medical Center, used to get frustrated when patients said they were taking pills, but they didn’t remember their names. The patients could, however, describe what the pills looked like.
Now, Schwartz uses an iPhone application called Epocrates to input characteristics of the pills. Up pops a list of medications and images that match the description.
Kind of gives new meaning to Apple Computer’s advertising slogan for the iPhone… “35,000 apps. And counting.”
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
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