In today’s #HITsm chat one of the topics brought up the impact of Google Glass on healthcare. I provided a few insights into Google Glass (Yes, I own a Google Glass and so I can speak first hand on it) that I thought would be beneficial to others.
Google Glass will find some powerful niches, but won't be common across healthcare. #HITsm
— EMR, EHR and HIT (@ehrandhit) March 28, 2014
I believe Google Glass will have a powerful role in the hospital. However, it won’t be ubiquitous. It’s not like you’ll get hired at a hospital and be issued your access card and a pair of Google Glass (Yes, Glass could be your access card, but that’s an expensive access card). With that said, Google Glass will find some incredibly powerful uses and become an indispensable part of many hospital workflows.
It's also worth noting that Google Glass is representative of a whole body of similar technology. Lots of options out there. #HITsm
— EMR, EHR and HIT (@ehrandhit) March 28, 2014
While this post has been about Google Glass. I think Google Glass represents a whole class of eyeware technologies which are coming to market. I’m not sure that Google Glass will win that market, but they’re definitely the ones that defined the market and so that’s why we talk about them. Watch for other competitors that do something similar, but might actually be the dominate leader in eyeware technology.
Glass can be as HIPAA compliant as any mobile device. #HITsm
— EMR, EHR and HIT (@ehrandhit) March 28, 2014
I agree that Google Glass and other related technologies have their own HIPAA privacy and security issues. However, they can be made to be as HIPAA compliant and secure as any other device. The form factor doesn’t really change the privacy and security. It’s what you do with the device and how you implement the software on the device which determines the HIPAA compliance of the product.
