NEW YORK: Many of the first Apple Watch health IT apps will give doctors faster access to critical information and ease communication between health care providers, while other apps will attempt to get patients more engaged with their health.
Don’t expect doctors to glance at their wrists to view X-rays or a patient’s chart, though. Given the Apple Watch’s screen size, functions that involve text messages work best on the device.
“Doctors get that the watch is a tool to help them deal with information overload,” said Michael Nusimow, CEO of drchrono, which makes EHR (electronic health record) software.
Like many other companies in the health space, drchrono announced its app this week at a large health IT conference put on by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, a nonprofit that looks to use IT to improve medical care. About a dozen companies in the health care industry announced their Apple Watch apps this week.
EHRs can overwhelm a physician with troves of data on a patient, Nusimow said.
With drchrono’s Apple Watch app, doctors can receive relevant and important information, such as when a patient arrives at the office. The app can also provide them with the patient’s vital statistics and pictures.
The watch is better suited for tasks like getting text notifications, while the iPad and iPhone, which drchrono also has apps for, can handle functions that require bigger screens, like reviewing charts, Nusimow said.
