Dell Wants Doctors to Use the Streak Tablet
Dell announced that it is integrating healthcare software commonly used by doctors into its Streak tablet in an effort to bring tablets into the doctor's office.
It's actually not a far-fetched idea. A study by Manhattan Research shows that 64 percent of medical professionals already use a smartphone on the job. The Dell Streak tablet running Android can do everything a smartphone does, but the larger screen (5 inches) makes it a little easier to use in a work environment.
"When we designed the device we thought about what a clinician might like, it's perfect size to fit into a lab coat, and allows you to be able to communicate anywhere," Jamie Coffin, vice president of Dell Healthcare and Life Sciences, told Reuters. Coffin said the iPhone screen is too small for doctors to use with patients and the iPad doesn't have the needed features.
Dell already has a good relationship with the healthcare industry, having bought Perot Systems last year. Perot was well liked for the healthcare software it provided to hospitals, and it is that very software Dell plans to put in the Dell Streak tablet.
The move benefits both parties. Doctors and nurses can use the tablet for faster communication, accessing information, taking and uploading images to patient's medical records and updating files, all without touching a computer. And expanding tablet sales into a professional market helps Dell find revenue streams outside the standard consumer market for tablets.
The Streak will be available to health-care providers this fall.
