Technology Makes the Pediatrician’s Job More Efficient and Manageable Sep 5

By Sterling Medical Staff

The time demands and number of pediatrician positions that are open create a need for more efficient clinical tools to make the best use of their time.  Among several promising paths to efficiency is a program called Clinical Answers. 

Still in development, it is described as a “…synthesized evidence-based summary that supports point-of-care clinical decision-making.”  A survey of eighty-three pediatricians showed results stating that 93% found the program useful or very useful and that it “allowed them to quickly locate critical information (82%).” (1)

A driving factor in the need for efficient pediatrician time management is the pressing demand for pediatricians, nationwide and around the world.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics projections in 2010, the need for pediatricians should increase by more than 20% over the next 10 years.  This translates to a need of greater than 30,000 pediatrician jobs, annually.

The need for pediatricians lies in industries that normally employ pediatricians:  hospital and social assistances agencies, followed by private practice. (2)

Such is the need for aid for pediatric oncologists, that computer giant Dell, is donating what is known as computing cloud.  This cloud will “…provide needed computing power to help TGen’s gene sequencing and analysis capacity by 1200 percent….”

According to Dell’s maddaloni president of Dell Public and Large Enterprise, Paul Bell, the “new cloud will help pediatric oncologists develop new ways to eliminate the trial and error in the treatment for pediatric cancer….” (3)

By far, the biggest step forward in assisting the job of pediatricians is the advent of mobile computing devices such as Apple’s iPhone and iPad.  According to Dr. Andrew J. Schuman, practicing pediatrician, the “apps” for use by pediatricians are useful not only for pediatricians, but for pediatricians to recommend to the parents of their patients, who also need informational and technological help in caring for the health of their children.

Pediatricians can call up and hand parents their device to fill out surveys to screen for developmental, emotional, or attention disorders.

Apps for pediatricians cover the subjects of pharmacology, dermatology, pediatric emergency medicine, hospital rounding, news, specifically for pediatricians from sources such as Medscape and the American Association for Pediatrics (AAP).(4)