Surface Computing

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Surface computing seems to be more about a different way to interact with your computer and other devices. You have a touch sensitive display - usually pictured as built into a table.

Introduction

One of the differences with this from other touch-screens is it can sense and differentiate touches in multiple locations, so multiple users could interact at the same time, or with multiple objects at the same time. It will also sense wireless or Bluetooth devices placed on it, such as PDAs, cellphones, and even credit cards in one demo - don't know if that uses RFID or what exactly. The demonstrations don't even use what look like normal windows - for example a picture is just a free floating picture that can be stretched, rotated, resized, moved around, etc. If a device is on the surface, the picture can be dragged over to it and will be automatically uploaded into that device.

That's one way it could be useful - for PHRs, allowing the patient or provider to move things easily back and forth between EHR and PHR stored on a portable device (or via the internet for that matter, with a small picture or icon representing the patient's PHR portal.) They also show users in different locations interacting with the same "surface", via the internet - so for example, you could consult a specialist in a distant location, and both be looking at and manipulating the same set of information together - I can see this would be useful for radiology in particular, but other specialties as well.

For EHRs, I've seen speculation of a patient record that looks more like an actual record, where you could shuffle through data in a more familiar representation, but hopefully with advanced search and filtering functions you don't get with a paper record. That might help people transition to EHRs, though I personally find knowing where things are and not having to shuffle through papers an advantage to the EHR.

On the Microsoft website, they show someone using it for ordering at the restaurant - there is a row of pictures at the bottom of the screen with pictures and descriptions of food, which you can scroll through, with the active one being larger to view more detail. When you make a selection, you slide the picture to a circle above the row of pictures, which places the order. I can see doing something similar for medication orders, with a row of meds, including whatever info seems desirable - with formulary meds or meds with potential risks appearing differently - different sizes, colors, etc., and perhaps a recommended med appearing by default as the initially chosen med. When you decide which one you want, you slide it up to the order circle, and it is sent off to the patient's pharmacy of choice.