iPad is Admitted to the Hospital and Almost Expelled from College

[Michael Essany]

The iPad is definitely selling like the proverbial hotcakes. But it's interesting to see some of the unusual places welcoming the tablet and, conversely, some of the places that are somewhat rejecting its presence.

Although it was never beyond the realm of possibility, the medical community is taking an interest in the iPad at a rate that may even surprise Apple. In addition to the countless doctors and private medical practices that now utilize the iPad's services, some hospitals are beginning to purchase the tablet computer in bulk. Kaweah Delta hospital in California, for example, just purchased one-hundred iPads for its treatment facility. Officials at the hospital say that the iPads will replace hospital laptops for every day use. Not only will iPads be employed for routine administrative tasks, they will also be tapped for activities like reviewing X-ray images and EKG results.

While the iPad still isn't cheap by any stretch of the imagination, in the medical field, however, the iPad isn't all that expensive either. Some touch-screen devices widely used in hospitals cost upwards of five times as much as the basic iPad. In this regard, putting the iPad to use in hospitals could result in substantial savings for the medical facilities that embrace the device.

Of course, what's hot to a hospital may not be so cool to a college. More than a few college campuses around the US have begun complaining about the iPad causing problems for available Wi-Fi networks. The most high-profile example of such is the situation now unfolding at Princeton University. As a result of widespread IP address confusion, Princeton has already begun "banishing certain iPads from its network" as roughly half of all the iPads on Princeton's network have had issues thus far. Although the IT geniuses at Princeton are tinkering with a plausible workaround for the problem, the situation at Princeton has been playing out at several other college campuses as well.

Ultimately, it appears that the iPad will eventually find a prominent home in both hospitals and institutions of higher learning. For now, however, the medical community may very well have a leg up on its collegiate counterpart in putting the iPad to swift and efficient use.

Image via hdghmi

[tremerone]

I wonder if the game "Operation" will come stock for the hospital iPads!?

[xYurjevich]

Cool.

[goodluck4287]

"Of course, what's hot to a hospital by not be so cool to a college."

I speak english natively, but I'm confused.

[CabooseLoL]

"Of course, what's hot to a hospital by not be so cool to a college."

I speak english natively, but I'm confused.

I think it was supposed to say "Of course, what's hot to a hospital MAY not be so cool to a college" ... maybe just a typo..

[thetoothfairy]

Should be cool for both places... that is what its for to use it anywhere.....

[mlee2010]

This could be an interesting move. Now if the automotive world adopted this for when they check codes and run diagnostics on your vehicle. Apple could have the ring to rule them all, so to speak.

[politicalslug]

Could you be more specific? What is happening at Princeton that's causing them to ban iPads from their WiFi networks? I haven't heard about this.

[jordanemmet]

There's an article from the Christan Science Monitor that explains the Princeton ban in detail:

First Israel, now Princeton University bans iPad / The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com

[whereswaldo]

I feel bad for Princeton students, the medical thing is funny because I was watching Miami medical and thinking that they could really us an iPad

[trevorrawson]

Way to go Kaweah Delta!! That's a nice little shout out from my town of Visalia! Horrible Hospital though, I'd never go there.

[lolcats1]

ambulance services use toughbooks. i don't want my life depending on some gimmicky device. you can drop a toughbook or sling it around, and it's still good to go.

ipads aren't reliable enough

[back9player]

Way to go Kaweah Delta!! That's a nice little shout out from my town of Visalia! Horrible Hospital though, I'd never go there.

hahaha... i live in v-town too. and yes, the hospital is a death trap! no joke!

and i have a friend who works there and says that they haven't even ordered the ipads yet. they are still discussing the potential. looks like this article jumped the gun a bit.

[mooritexxx]

ambulance services use toughbooks. i don't want my life depending on some gimmicky device. you can drop a toughbook or sling it around, and it's still good to go.

ipads aren't reliable enough

true

[reanimationxp]

Messany's at it again. If I see a story with poor writing skills, nothing of interest in it, and a complete lack of relevant facts and respect for English grammatical norms, that name never fails to grace the subtitle. Please let someone else do your writing.

For those that are wondering what he was attempting to allude to on the Princeton issue, it's a now well-known iPad problem: IP leases extending past their expiration time. En masse, this will quickly cause severe DHCP problems, especially on already-cramped small-subnet wifi networks like college campuses.

[lolcats1]

lol staff writers

[j.castellon]

damn I wait to see the day my doctor has an iPad lol.

[Cer0]

Could you be more specific? What is happening at Princeton that's causing them to ban iPads from their WiFi networks? I haven't heard about this.

To save a click and looking at another site, thanks for the link though. Bascially iPads are not giving up IP addresses after they expire that the router already has claimed back. Even after the dhcp lease expires the iPads continue to use the same IP. Causing double use of the IP which is causing several issues.

ambulance services use toughbooks. i don't want my life depending on some gimmicky device. you can drop a toughbook or sling it around, and it's still good to go.

ipads aren't reliable enough

Even more so when they fall of the helicopters like one just did recently in MN.

[sziklassy]

Hosptial use is probably the most practical use I can think of for the iPad. I wonder what kind of app/software they are running.

[Teoyaomqui]

Way to go Kaweah Delta!! That's a nice little shout out from my town of Visalia! Horrible Hospital though, I'd never go there.

hahaha... i live in v-town too. and yes, the hospital is a death trap! no joke!

and i have a friend who works there and says that they haven't even ordered the ipads yet. they are still discussing the potential. looks like this article jumped the gun a bit.

Hosptial use is probably the most practical use I can think of for the iPad. I wonder what kind of app/software they are running.

Am from Tiger Country and I dont see the use of the iPad unless special software is made for it.

If they still run M$ programs its going to be hard to get it in the iPad.

Also I hope the Foundation is paying for it and not My Tax dollars. Thats around 59,900 dollars gone to waste.