ORLANDO – Google Glass will soon be available to the public, but its future role in medicine is still hazy.
Glass, which is among the growing number of wearable technologies, has several applications to health care settings, experts say. Just last year, a surgeon at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center in Columbus live-streamed an ACL procedure via his Google Glass. And most recently, Rhode Island Hospital’s emergency department began using the device’s video capabilities to consult with off-site specialists.
But Glass is not HIPAA compliant, raising patient privacy concerns and dissuading hospitals from incorporating it into their growing list of mobile technologies. Still, technology enthusiasts are charging ahead, envisioning a future in which Glass could be yet another piece in physicians’ toolkits.
At the annual meeting of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Dr. Jonathan A. Handler, chief medical information officer for M*Modal, spoke about Glass's potential in medicine.
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