Well, here’s an interesting development. An EMR company has created an app allowing doctors using Google Glass to store patient data on a cloud-based storage and collaboration site.
The vendor, California-based Drchrono, is claiming that the application is the first “wearable health record.” Whether or not that’s the case, this is clearly a step forward in the development of Google Glass as a practical tool for doctors.
According to a Reuters report, Drchrono worked closely with cloud-based storage and collaboration service Box along with Google Glass to create the app.
The new Google Glass at allows doctors — with the patient’s permission — to use Google Glass to record a consultation or surgery. Once the work is done, physician can store the video, as well as photographs and notes, and the patient’s EMR or in Box. The app also allows the data to be shared with the patient.
The app is still in its infancy — so far, just 300 of the 60,000 doctors using Drchrono’s EMR platform have opted to use the Google Glass app, which is currently available at no cost to users.
But Google Glass apps and options are clearly on the rise, and not just among providers. A recent study by Accenture found that consumers are are very interested in wearable technology; they’re particularly interested in wearable smart glasses like Google Glass as well as smart watches.
As things stand, devices like Google Glass are in the very early adoption stage, so it’s not surprising that few of Drchrono’s physician users have opted to try out the new app. But things are likely to change over the next year or two.
I believe Google Glass will follow the same trajectory the iPad did in medicine. First it was a toy for the well-financed, curious and tech savvy, then an option for early adopters in medicine, then eventually a tool that made sense for nearly every provider.
For the next year or two, most Google Glass announcements will be like this one, reports of experiments whose only uptake will come from leading-edge experimenters in medical technology. But within the next two years or so, Google Glass uses will proliferate, as will the apps that make them a worthwhile investment.
This level of success isn’t inevitable, but it is likely. I’d bet good money that two years from now, you may be reading this blog on a Google Glass app and managing your EMR through one as well. It’s just a matter of time.
Zero chance of success. Patients and physicians are still VERY concerned about privacy and its just creepy to have that constant reminder on someones face.
I wouldn’t say zero, but this will be a niche area.
To your point, would someone who is comfortable with a “glass” wearing doc, also be comfortable if that doc was merely holding a video camera during a consultation?
I think this will succeed more on the teaching side of things than actual daily patient use.
I’ve noticed some docs taking a video of surgery with “glass” on like it is something new.
Surgery has been filmed for years, and yes, even with head mounted cameras.
Nothing new here.