A personal digital assistant (PDA) may be a better way of delivering clinical information at the point of care than paper or Web-based tools, according to results of a pilot study presented at the Annual Scientific Assembly of the American Academy of Family Physicians. According to the study, the PDA reduced the cognitive workload of the 10 residents and five faculty members who participated in the study.
Participants judged the PDA as significantly easier to use overall than a paper or Web-based tool in delivering the Adult Treatment Panel III clinical cholesterol guidelines from the National Cholesterol Education Program. Participants were first surveyed after testing the different tools with a practice case, and then were resurveyed after using each method in the clinic.
The investigators wanted the tool to remind the participants just what they should do when they are in with patients. But, regarding PDAs, they queried, "Were we really getting any bang for the buck?" When asked to rank the tools on a measure of overall ease of use and simplicity, participants ranked the PDA first, the paper method second, and the Web-based version third. Now, the investigators would like to see whether it makes a difference for patients as to which method is used.
Source of Press Release: PGMSI
posted by Kent 7:06 PM |
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