E book readers have been in the market since couple of years.But,of late it has captured the imagination of Consumers,with Amazon launching their widely marketed Kindle in version 2.There has been a plethora of articles in News and blogs about its impact on consumers reading habits.

How can E book readers benefit medicine?

Healthcare professionals need to update their medical information regularly. Journals offer the  option to keep abreast with the current news in the world of health care.But,time constraints  many health care professionals from visiting libraries to read them.In addition,carrying journal articles around with them always is not feasible.
Internet offered a big leap of support in their ability to  access many journals and news articles through the Personal Computer.Downloading onto pocket pc were one of the other  viable options.With the evolution of technology Smart phones offered a better viability in their ability to connect onto the web through Wi fi and download various scientific articles.But,the size factor limited their wide spread functionality,although portability was an added advantage.

E book readers which have generated widespread interested in the couple of years,and more so recently with the launch of Kindle 2.0 from Amazon.This offers the portability of an Journal article in addition to that the connectivity of an Cell
phone.In future.this may enable many health care professionals to download journal articles on their e book reader and carry on with them.Also entire medical text book could be downloaded on a e book reader for quick reference.

The advantage over pocket pc or other  personal digital assistants is that it offers better readability and comfort
than the current mobile based devices.

The wide spread growth of E book readers in the market,will accelerate the price fall which may further propel these devices in the market for health care professionals.

However,certain questions prior to their widespread usage need to be asked.Could it better tablet PCs which are already used in Health Care institutions. Can it offer better Medical care management.Can  it replace paper based medical records in future?

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