I'm a solo practice Internal Med doc and we are about to join the AC ranks. I'm wondering what type of hardware to use: a tablet, laptop, macbook pro/air or ipad.
I really like the reliability of Macs, but I'm open to other suggestions.
Also, my nurse will need something portable as well and I'm wondering what would best for her.
A lot of it depends on the setup of your office.
1) I, and I think many others have a preference for hard wired internet. It is faster, more reliable and more secure. But it requires running lines to all the exam rooms and computers.
2) While Apple products do have the edge in reliability, PCs are pretty reliable and more easily fixed. Since AC is dependent on Windows technology, you have to involve some PC's. I don't actually find PC reliability to be a major issue in the office. The more complex you make it, the more likely it is to break. Using Parallels or equivalent or remoting into a desktop consistently is increasing your complexity.
3)If your nurse has a place to chart now, put a computer there. Or, she can chart in advance of you in the exam room when she places the patient into the room. You will also need another computer at the front desk.
Thus, hardwired PCs are probably your best bet. Larger screens are better (or dual screens, see other posts here) Yes, you can do it with laptops, but smaller screens, wireless and increased theft risk will become barriers. I have used tablets, and thus touch screens, but find the keyboard to be annoying and the size small. Apple can work but again, you are either running virtual or remoting into a PC.
Now this scenario is for on site AC setup. AC in the cloud will release the requirement to be Windows based, I think. While I have looked at the cloud product, I do not have enough experience to apply the above information to that setup.
