Ozzie docs offered iPad election pledge

The Labor-party premier of the Australian state of Victoria has pledged to provide all doctors in the state with an iPad, if re-elected.

The election pledge covers all doctors in the state but doesn’t include iPads for allied health professionals such as nurses.

Victoria is engaged in a $360m overhaul of its hospital technology systems, in a project called HealthSMART.

A similar pledge on mobile devices for health professionals has been made by Australia’s rival Coalition party, without specifically mentioning the Apple tablet device.

The pledge was reported by ZDNet Australia, which went on to quote iSoft’s Australian director of markets and solutions Byron Phillips as saying it was "hard to deny" the organic uptake of the iPad by clinicians over the past six months since the tablet was released in Australia.

Analyst firm Gartner has questioned whether Victoria’s Labor Party had properly analysed what management tools and supporting infrastructure it will need if it wins the election and is required to deliver on the promise.