Victorian hospitals get 500 iPads
- 30 July, 2010 09:16
- Comments 1
The Victorian State Government has unveiled a program where 500 iPads will be delivered to a number of hospitals in the state, as the Brumby Labor government continues to show a great deal of interest in the Apple platform.
The rollout will cost about $500,000, according to a statement issued yesterday by state health minister, Daniel Andrews. The iPads will be used by graduate doctors, nursing practitioners and advanced practice nurses to use while treating patients.
The trial will take place from January next year, although Andrews did not disclose which hospitals would get the technology.
“The iPads will allow doctors and nurses to access any web-enabled application run by their hospital as they move around the hospital, as well as allowing them to tap into health information resources,” he said. “The iPads will connect via the wi-fi networks that allow secure, safe wireless connectivity within the hospital while not affecting other important and sensitive electronic patient care equipment.”
The Victorian Government will assess the benefits of the trial before further expanding the project.
The news comes several months after Victorian Premier, John Brumby, announced the state would buy more than 500 iPads to be distributed to schools in another trial of the tablet devices.
“This trial will allow us to understand the impact of iPads on student learning and communication, and on the way teachers plan and deliver curriculum in the classroom,” Brumby said in a statement at the time.
But not everybody in the public sector eco-system has been so enthusiastic about the new Apple technology.
The chief executive of South Australia’s health department issued a sternly worded letter to all staff in late May warning staff off corporate purchases of Apple’s flagship iPad device until the department’s IT team could properly assess the device.
SA Health CEO, Tony Sherbon, told staff that while the potential use of the iPad within SA Health might be significant, the department needed to fully assess the device before it was implemented — with concerns around the security of patient information being one potential issue.
- Bookmark this page
- Share this article
- Got more on this story? Email ARN
- Follow ARN on twitter
- CITRIX SYNERGY ’13: Look beyond Cloud infrastructure, says Liang
- CITRIX SYNERGY ’13: IT needs to be empowered, says Sallam
- CITRIX SYNERGY ’13: Christiancen highlights the need for collaboration
- CITRIX SYNERGY ’13: Devices will change how people work, says Duursma
- Are we ready for a mobile-first world?
-
Attack on Telenor was part of large cyberespionage operation with Indian origins: report
-
Box buys iOS app to improve its own
-
Growing mobile malware threat swirls (mostly) around Android
-
Barracuda Networks raises free capacity of Copy.com to 15GB
-
Coke gives peace a chance ( +16 photos)
Get exclusive access to ARN's news, research and invitation only events. 
Comments
Pete
1
Will the iPads have approved encryption (EPL, Common Criteria EAL 1 or FIPS 140-2) to protect any downloaded data and patient information. Given the devices are very attractive