Bridging the Information Gap Between Physicians and Patients with an iPad

John Moore, who blogs over at Chilmark Research, has recently discussed the iPad and its potential healthcare applications. In a recent note, he says the following about what he perceptively describes as the information gap between physicians and patients (see: iPad in Healthcare: A Game Changer?):

One of those local healthcare institutions [attempting to close the information gap] appears to be Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center...where an ER doc has provided his own iPad review, based on actual use during a shift.  Particularly like his comment about using it for patient education.  Might the iPad truly bridge the information gap between patient and clinician?  One thing is for certain, it will make it much easier for patient and clinician to confer over a given diagnosis, results and creation of a treatment plan with supporting documentation/graphics.

I found myself grinning slightly about John's use of the term information gap from the perspective of physician/patient relations. Perhaps even five years ago, this idea would never have surfaced at all. If it did, most physicians would have responded in the following way: Duh! Of course there's an information gap between physicians and patients. I went to medical school and then trained in my specialty for ____ years. I am being paid to render advice to my patients and they are supposed to follow most if not all of my recommendations.

One of the major factors for improving the health of the general population, and reducing healthcare costs, is encouraging consumers to take ownership over their own health by pursuing a healthy lifestyle (see: Preventive and Predictive Medicine as Components of the Healthcare Continuum; Seeking Solutions to the Chronic Disease Epidemic; Seeking the Correct Definition for a "Lifestyle Disease"). One of the ways that physicians can function as an effective "health coach" (see: "Cancer Coaches" Start to Play Significant Role in Cancer Care) is by reviewing with their patients the reports from the clinical labs and radiology and commenting on their relevance. The iPad is an appropriate device for sitting down with patients and paging through the various reports with them as a means for decreasing the information gap. Many physicians may also have access to the digital images as well via the PACS, which provides another collaborative opportunity.