We’ve seen Apple show off medical applications for the iPad in keynotes and commercials, and now we have some news about implementation into large public health facilities.

CBC News is reporting that the Ottawa Hospital in Canada recently ordered 1,800 iPads in addition to the 500 that are already being used by health-care providers. The iPads will replace traditional paper medical charts.

Staff at the hospital are saying that the shift to iPad usage instead of paper charts is putting the Ottawa Hospital at the forefront of all hospitals in North America. Doctors will be able to examine and show X-rays, make notes and prescribe treatments all with the iPad.

Dr. Glen Geiger told CBC News that he could be at a patient’s bedside with an iPad and be able to talk about results directly, thus eliminating lots of extra time and paperwork. All patient information can be carried on iPads as well. Information such as medical histories, injury reports and allergies.

Geiger also expressed some advantages. “We’d discuss if you’d agree to the treatment plan, we’d order the treatment plan right then and there while we’re talking to you, instead of saying, ‘Let me go down the hall and order that treatment in a few minutes.’” Doctors are know for messy hand-written notes and the iPad would also solve the problem of trying to decipher their handwriting.

Ottawa Hospital is exptected to have the new iPads by July and they will offset costs by replacing outdated equipment, increasing productivity and reducing errors. Security measures are also in place to ensure that patient’s records will not be compromised. Data will not be stored locally on the iPad so that patient information will always be secure.

The 1,800 iPads will be used by physicians, resident physicians and pharmacists.

[via CBC News]