New iPad App Eases Access to Electronic Medical Records

This is a guest post by Angelita Williams.

CNET recently reported on the release of a new iPad app that will make accessing EMRs a quick and efficient process. The software company ClearPractice has been working directly with Apple to develop the app, called Nimble. Nimble is reportedly the first EMR app to run natively on iOS.

Nimble includes all the components of ClearPractice's Electronic Medical Records solution into an iPad application. Because the application connects using WiFi or 3G networks directly to ClearPractice's cloud, no information is stored on the device, allowing Nimble to be fully compliant with HIPAA regulations. ClearPractice's software-as-service (SaaS) EMR program, on which Nimble is based, is the most advanced EMR software of its kind, in that it is completely web-based.

Features of both the SaaS and now Nimble include a "Clinical Dashboard", in which users can create a work list that enables the performance of tasks like reviewing diagnostic images and results and reviewing scheduled appointments, among other things. The software also has a prescription writer, which enables users to look up the latest prescription cost and efficacy information, as well as to review and refill electronic prescriptions as needed. These are only a small sampling of what ClearPractice's EMR software has to offer. For more information, you can check out ClearPractice's website.

Although Nimble contains all the features of ClearPractice's SaaS, ClearPractice president Joel Anderson said, as reported in a BusinessWire article:

"We didn’t just replicate our existing EMR system on iPad, we took the opportunity to rethink the EMR experience and do all the things we could never do via other devices or platforms Nimble provides doctors instant access to the critical information and patient care tools they need regardless of where or when that care takes place the point of care is now everywhere."

Nimble arrives on the mobile application scene at a time in which relatively few clinics are using electronic medical records. ClearPractice hopes that more clinicians, particularly those working at smaller clinics, the vast majority of which are still using paper, will make the transformation, as EMRs represent new possibilities for both saving money and time for doctors and their patients. What's more, EMRs enable doctors to more closely and effectively monitor their patients, especially those with chronic conditions like diabetes.

ClearPractice announced that it would give away free iPads and an accompanying copy of Nimble to the first 500 physicians who subscribe to the EMR software. To download a free trial version of Nimble, check out the product's information site here.

This guest post is contributed by Angelita Williams, who writes on the topics of online college courses. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: angelita.williams7 @gmail.com.