Tablet Wars, HIMSS edition: docs love iPads, but is it all a conspiracy?

According to observer and blogger John Moore of Chilmark Research in his wrapup of HIMSS ’11, the iPad seems darn nigh unstoppable. ‘Nearly every EHR vendor has an iPad app for the EHR’; announcements at HIMSS included Practice Fusion’s $30 iPad access via LogMeIn, and GE Healthcare with iPhone and iPad remote access for Centricity Advance and Practice Solution. And the growth is spectacular–Moore’s presentation for the Mobihealthnews webinar (see slide 6) estimates tablet saturation among physicians as just north of 40% for 2011 and 70% for 2012. But why the iPad versus other tablets? Is it coincidence or conspiracy? Vince Kuraitis on his e-Care Management blog comes down on the side of the latter; his speculation is that Apple is stealthily cornering the market on healthcare platforms and apps, eventually finding a way to charge fees for healthcare products and services via the iPad as they are starting to with publishers. Eds. Steve and Donna comments are below his article. ‘Apple Arrogance’ and more. Doctors love iPads. What does it mean?

Updated 1 March: More on this record-breaking HIMSS (1000+ exhibitors, 30,410 attendees):

  • SAP announced their ‘Collaborative E-Care Management application’ to make ‘coordination of care among patients, their healthcare providers and their families easier.’ No mention of the good eyes you’d need to spot, in the press release, the also-announced joint marketing agreement with MedApps as SAP’s first medical monitoring device (paragraph 6)–and, oddly, no quote from MedApps or boilerplate ‘about’ and press contact.
  • dozen mobile health highlights from Mobihealthnews (AT&T secures pilot for WellDoc, Sprint partners with Ideal Life (release), more);
  • HIStalk’s ‘inside baseball’ from 24 Feb (Insanity! Exhaustion! HIStalkapalooza!), 23 Feb (a random walk on the floor) and the 28 Feb update (tomorrow’s news today).