Emory Healthcare moves from PC to MacBook Air
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Emory Healthcare moves to Mac, making MacBook Air a laptop default for doctors.
Emory previously collaborated with Apple in 2016 to develop an app about Parkinson's disease. However, until now, according to Modern Healthcare, it has been standardized for PCs.
Chief Information and Digital Officer Dr. Alistair Erskine told the publication that Emory purchased 830 MacBook Air computers as part of a program worth about $1 million. According to his biography on Emory's website, Dr. Erskine is “responsible for the digital transformation of the Emory organization.”
He says Emory will now provide the MacBook Air as the default laptop for all physicians.
“I ultimately think it will make the experience easier for the end user,” Dr. Erskine said, adding that Emory doctors have been asking about using Apple devices.
“Many doctors use a Mac at home, and many researchers use a Mac,” Dr. Erskine said. “Just because we're used to not using Macs in healthcare, I think they kind of tolerate Windows devices.”
Dr. Erskine also said Emory expects to recoup its $1 million investment in part due to the MacBook Air's lower energy costs. Emory also expects this to result in significant savings in technical support costs compared to Windows PCs.
Epic EHR is coming in the Mac App Store
As part of the Mac standardization process, Emory is also bringing Epic's electronic health records (EHR) software to 200 of its MacBook Air laptops. Epic is in the process of releasing its EHR software to the Mac App Store, which will simplify mobile device management (MDM) for large customers.
Epic's move to the Mac App Store was reportedly driven by demand from customers like Emory, as well as developer support from Apple.
Apple's collaboration with Epic comes after controversy in 2020, when Apple supported government moves to give patients more access to their medical data. At the time, Epic opposed the idea, saying it would be “unduly burdensome” on the US health care system.
