Surgeons at Georgetown are using the iPad to access real time patient data and radiographic images during surgery.

Integrating the iPad into the clinical setting virtually eliminates guesswork by busy doctors because laboratory data and other key patient information are immediately accessible both on wards and in the operating room. Important data can even be captured during surgery and shared with the patient afterward.

The iPad is “a powerful and flexible computing device [that] will almost certainly play some role in our future everyday practices,” says Dr. Felasfa Wodajo, an orthopedic surgeon at Georgetown University.

By decreasing the barriers to integrating technology with clinical care, the outcome can be improved patient safety, higher patient satisfaction, and decreased health care costs.

In the January 2011 issue of the Journal of Surgical Radiology, Dr. Wodajo details how he has integrated the iPad into his clinical practice.