A patient asked why the NHS doesn&#x27;t use Macs - discuss

Original post by quasa

As above, someone asked me why the NHS doesnt use Macs as he hasnt had any problems with his mac and he assumed the majority of people still use windows XP.

I tried to explain to the guy that the NHS isnt made of money and that the cheapest iMac is around 4 times more expensive than the spec used in NHS but he wasnt having any of it (he didnt get his repeat medication as his prescription hadnt been sent by his GP surgery).

So yh, should the NHS switch to macs or stick with windows, albeit windows 10 pro terminals / up-to-date OS and servers instead of an OS that is way more than 10 years old with server software that is almost the same age.

Plus people assume Macs are protected from all Viruses and Malware... They're not! They're just as susceptible as Windows computers; however, there are less Viruses and Malware written for the Mac OS software which makes Mac OS look better as there's not as much chances being affected by a malicious program, unlike Windows.

Reply 4

Etomidate

15

The NHS is still reliant on pager technology from the 80s. Could we update that first, please?

Reply 5

claireestelle

22

Original post by quasa

As above, someone asked me why the NHS doesnt use Macs as he hasnt had any problems with his mac and he assumed the majority of people still use windows XP.

I tried to explain to the guy that the NHS isnt made of money and that the cheapest iMac is around 4 times more expensive than the spec used in NHS but he wasnt having any of it (he didnt get his repeat medication as his prescription hadnt been sent by his GP surgery).

So yh, should the NHS switch to macs or stick with windows, albeit windows 10 pro terminals / up-to-date OS and servers instead of an OS that is way more than 10 years old with server software that is almost the same age.

Stick with windows since it's much more commonly used so you can pick it up quickly, also i doubt i could label a script as quickly using an apple keyboard (shudders). Macs can still get malware so that wouldnt solve any issues by any means.

Reply 6

programmedrobot

1

Macs are highly overrated, most of the consumer base is the rich and famous being made to use their products for advertising, they look nice but that's about it. I'm sure the NHS wouldn't want to work so much for such overpriced machines.

Reply 7

Big Lee

6

System seems to be working fine now so why change it

Reply 8

OP

Original post by negro

Pharmacies should be run by robots, no point employing factory workers. Isn't that right, Quasa.

agreed.

Reply 9

OP

Original post by Etomidate

The NHS is still reliant on pager technology from the 80s. Could we update that first, please?

thats only hospitals. it makes sense if your on wards however and it isnt disrespectful as using your phone.

what is weird is that there is a pager monopoly courtesy of anti-compettition against vodafone and them selling their pager division to said company (read it somewere on techradar /maybe engadget)

Reply 10

Meany Pie

5

Macs are good for some things, such as design.

However they are expensive and won't run the type of systems the NHS requires to function.

Reply 11

SMEGGGY

21

Well they'll update now, no biggie

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 12

OP

Original post by Meany Pie

Macs are good for some things, such as design.

However they are expensive and won't run the type of systems the NHS requires to function.

the irony is that if the systems were updated, you could develop a macOS app using xamarin as the code would be more or less the same, just user interface that is different to adapt to macOS.

Reply 13

3121

21

Original post by quasa

As above, someone asked me why the NHS doesnt use Macs as he hasnt had any problems with his mac and he assumed the majority of people still use windows XP.

I tried to explain to the guy that the NHS isnt made of money and that the cheapest iMac is around 4 times more expensive than the spec used in NHS but he wasnt having any of it (he didnt get his repeat medication as his prescription hadnt been sent by his GP surgery).

So yh, should the NHS switch to macs or stick with windows, albeit windows 10 pro terminals / up-to-date OS and servers instead of an OS that is way more than 10 years old with server software that is almost the same age.

I think a custom build Linux would've been 10x better. It's a shame labour scrapped the project. Linux viruses are rare and with a custom kernel and changes at the base of the OS it'd mean extra security + the systems would have to be directly targeted with the need for an open source code of the custom OS (which would most likely stay hidden unless it somehow leaked.)

Reply 14

c0mmodity

9

The reason they haven't updated isn't solely them being lazy; they can't in some cases. Legacy systems implemented a decade ago rely on software that's horribly outdated (imagine having to replace software for all the equipment). Switching over to another OS would only make the issue worse. Think about how outdated the NHS' systems are, now think about the code that's running on them - they clearly aren't that future-proof, and the cost to update it would be astronomical, consider how costly it would be to write it for another OS.

Reply 15

Meany Pie

5

Original post by quasa

the irony is that if the systems were updated, you could develop a macOS app using xamarin as the code would be more or less the same, just user interface that is different to adapt to macOS.

Well you are the expert, my computer knowledge isn't that good.

There is still the cost element, a base iMac is at least £1k a unit, maybe a little cheaper with a bulk purchase.

Reply 16

Etomidate

15

Original post by quasa

thats only hospitals. it makes sense if your on wards however and it isnt disrespectful as using your phone.

what is weird is that there is a pager monopoly courtesy of anti-compettition against vodafone and them selling their pager division to said company (read it somewere on techradar /maybe engadget)

It makes no sense having to sit at a phone dial a number, put the phone down then having to stay glued to the phone waiting for a response that may or may not come.

It also makes no sense having to stop what you're doing to go and find a phone to answer a bleep, when you could potentially be bleeped 30 times in 60 minutes.

It also makes no sense when you consider that almost every doctor carries a smartphone.

When it comes to disrespect, I find it quite disrespectful having a sqwarking black box going off every 10 seconds while I'm talking to unwell patients, explaining diagnoses or performing examinations +/- having to interrupt said conversations to answer the demon.

Reply 17

OP

Original post by zayn008

I think a custom build Linux would've been 10x better. It's a shame labour scrapped the project. Linux viruses are rare and with a custom kernel and changes at the base of the OS it'd mean extra security + the systems would have to be directly targeted with the need for an open source code of the custom OS (which would most likely stay hidden unless it somehow leaked.)

slight problem with open source (and git depositories) is that anyone can access them. whilst it can be beneficial that more people will be working to patch, a massive con is that more people will have access to codes and backdoors.

also the other thing is that a lot of people struggle using linux (for some reason, i personally find macOS the most irritating modern OS which is nowhere near as bad as pre-XP microsoft OS'). Also because there is multiple linux OS', what would be most suitable (mint, ubuntu, xubuntu, mint, fedora etc).

Reply 18

ax12

Mac's are very expensive and I wouldn't be surprised if the systems for viewing lab results, drug charts, and radiology didn't work on them (they barely manage to work properly on the systems that we have).
However, we do have a lot of iPads and iPhones in the hospital, which hold all of the observations and I believe can be used to record some of the patient care. They are also used by the doctors on call, although we still have bleepers.

Reply 19

OP