Cool Innovations From Microsoft

Windows 8 Revolutionizes The Doctor-Patient Experience

By Christopher Ally

Microsoft Windows is the world’s most popular software of all time, encompassing computers around the globe. With Microsoft’s newest iteration of the Windows operating system, the company has chosen to focus not only the stand alone desktop computer, but also branching out to mobile devices. Devices that run on Windows now include cell phones, tablet computers, and even their popular X Box gaming platform. So what does this mean for the world of healthcare?

Let’s take a “microsoftic” look at their latest offerings. Windows 8 allows users to now synchronize their desktops, cell phones, and tablet computers across the board, retaining the same information and work synonymously across each device. This function for a health practitioner would be very beneficial.

Imagine a doctor who gets an email update regarding the condition of their patient. That email is read and sent back to the clinic or hospital. With Windows 8 the doctor then, proceeds to research possible symptoms of the cause and solutions to the medical condition on their tablet computer as they go to the healthcare facility. They display the results to the patient outlining the causes and effects.

The patient gets an email update regarding their condition. The doctor then goes home to their Desktop or laptop PC and finds all of their research, and emails for that day already on their computer. The doctor then indexes and documents the patient’s medical condition. This is all done using a single operating system.

With Windows 8, Microsoft has included a handy feature called “Live Tiles” to their operating system. This means that on every Windows 8 device, there is an icon on the screen that informs a user that there is a new email, or an update of various kinds. The healthcare system will also benefit from Windows 8 simply because of integration. Windows is already deep rooted within most business industries. The ability to simply upgrade the software, would be as simple as one click.

There are other systems and platforms on the market, however, only Windows offers cross-platform synchronization on all devices at the same time. Imagine how much time could be saved and utilized if the healthcare system was always up to date!

Just Scratching The Surface

Records could be processed faster, patient appointment reminders could be synced to a patient’s phone, tablet, and computer. Health cards could be processed wirelessly, medical supplies could be bought online (i.e. pharmacies and drug stores), and certainly the amount of time everyone could save by knowing when their doctor would be available without having to call a clinic.

 Hospitals would also benefit from a feature having electronic updates to tablet computers regarding a patient’s location, condition and prescriptions within the hospital.

With this new platform for operating systems, Microsoft has definitely allowed the user experience to take full advantage of the computing revolution.