At lunch the other day, I noticed my cousin futzing around with her iPhone and a prescription for medication. "What are you doing?" I ask. "I'm refilling a prescription," she replies.
From her phone, she takes a photo of the script, which is uploaded to an app, and sent to the nearest CVS Pharmacy. She gets confirmation that the refill will be ready in an hour, right when we get out of lunch.
This prescription app is a primitive step compared to the healthcare technology of the future. As patients start to use these apps more often, they will begin to demand more services with this form factor. Scheduling appointments, paying doctors, ordering medication - all will be done through apps.
Hospitals must have EHRs and infrastructure in place to meet the future demand for these portable apps. In areas were patients have a choice of quality healthcare providers, they will choose the most technically advanced. These create customer expectations that savvy healthcare management will meet.
Consumers have become increasingly dependent on mobile device over the last five years (disclosure: I'm writing this blog on an iPad). We [consumers] expect apps for most things in our lives now - healthcare will be no different.
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