Study finds one in five physicians plan to buy an iPad

We may soon find many health care professionals carrying along Apple’s iPad in the near future as part of their tools to help patients. Epocrates, the developer of mobile applications used by more than 900,000 healthcare professionals worldwide, found in a study conducted to more than 350 clinicians that more than 60 percent have shown interest in Apple’s iPad; with one in five already having the intentions on buying one on launch day. Additionally, 9 percent said they plan on buying one when it’s immediately available while another 13 percent intend to purchase one within the first year. Epocrates announced that they plan on customizing its clinical reference application in light of the iPad unveiling; the app is already available for the iPhone and iPod touch. Rose Crane, chief executive officer of Epocrates, said "By optimizing our software for the iPad, we are capitalizing on the larger screen real estate and interactivity provided by this sophisticated device. We are committed to providing the most productive experience at the point of care, keeping physicians informed and focused on the patient rather than searching for answers." The popular app is currently in use by more than one in five physicians with roughly more than 900,000 clinicians worldwide using Epocrates – it’s also available on other handsets for BlackBerry and Palm. It was actually featured by Apple at its iPhone Software Roadmap event in 2008 and the Epocrates medical reference application was the first available on the App Store. There’s a bunch of uses that the iPad may find itself in a hospital setting; such as providing X-rays, chats, prescriptions, and notes to hospital workers at the touch of a finer.

source: Apple Insider