Though Google Glass has potential for yielding important mobile health applications for medical professionals, due to technical limitations and regulatory hurdles it could still be years before the technology sees wide use in healthcare.
Interoperability, in particular, is a stumbling block to implementing Google Glass in healthcare settings, according to Lynne Dunbrack, research vice president with IDC Health Insights, who argues that EHR vendors are totally focused on keeping up with the requirements of Meaningful Use and aren't necessarily working to make sure their systems are compatible with emerging mobile devices. As a result, Dunbrack believes this will delay the implementation of Google Glass in clinical settings. She expects the industry won't see any commercially available Google Glass apps until the end of 2014 or later.
Dan Riskin, M.D., a board-certified surgeon and CEO of the big data company Health Fidelity, thinks there will be ongoing development of medical apps for Google Glass over the next couple of years. However, Riskin feels regulatory uncertainty will make it difficult for developers to know exactly what the device can legally be used for. Article