Mentioned in a recent Red Ribbon Blog post and several Friday Recaps, Google Glass is, once again, making headlines. Thanks to healthcare technology company Octovis, Inc., wearable computing could soon become a staple in the most unassuming patient-clinician interactions. Business Insider shares how the $1,500 device may be less than a month away from enhancing efficiency in the exam room.
The Nashville-based company is one of a handful of start-ups looking to carve out a place for wearable technology in as many healthcare scenarios as possible. Octovis claims Google Glass offers a way for physicians to save time and resources by integrating the technology in regular patient interactions.
In the exam room setting, a clinician collects an incredible amount of patient information, which, with today’s constraints, requires the provider—or his or her assistant—to manually write or type in the patient record, during or following the visit. If the patient or physician does not have important pieces of the medical record on hand to answer questions, make a diagnosis, or prescribe medications, extra leg work may be required, such as contacting the patient’s other physicians. The process is often seen as time consuming and can require further resources.
Enter Google Glass. According to Octovis, the technology can be utilized from the very beginning of the patient visit. When set in the “record audio” setting, it can manage information gathering and note taking—acting as a liaison between the Google Glass and the physician’s electronic health record (EHR) program. Additionally, the growing accessibility and integration of EHRs allows the physician to quickly access the patient’s medical history and make on-the-spot decisions.
Octovis is also developing technology that would make Google Glass usable by surgeons. During an operation, the physician would be able to immediately access patient information without having to leave the patient and search through records on a nearby computer.
“Our application of Google Glass allows the surgeon to view MRIs, cat scans, etc., so they have more relevant information and can focus on the surgical site and not leave the patient,” Octovis founder and CEO Ryan Macy told Business Insider.
Octovis is expected to launch as a subscription service on August 21, 2014.
