What's New

May 27, 2002

 
New Handspring Handhelds

In addition to the long-awaited color Treo communicator, the Treo 270, Handspring has announced a new entry-level device, the Treo 90. Inside the tiny Treo case, the Treo 90 packs a built-in keyboard, color screen, 16 MB of memory, and...finally...an SD expansion slot, making this the only Treo that's really useful for loading up lots of hefty medical reference software. Notably, the Treo 90 does not include the built-in wireless funtionality found in its more expensive siblings. However, if you work around telemetry equipment, this is probably a good thing. The Treo 90 retails for $299, and shipping is free for a limited time. Click on the banner at the top of this page for more information.
posted by Kent 10:35 PM | |

May 22, 2002

 
The Medical iSilo Depot

MeisterMed has just added a new wing to their website, the Medical iSilo Depot. The Depot is a collection of more than 100 iSilo documents designed for the medical PDA user gathered from sources far and near. They're encouraging visitors to submit reviews as well. Click here to check it out!
posted by Kent 9:59 PM | |

May 17, 2002

 
Bob Hoyt, an internist and teacher of family practice residents, recently launched a noteworthy new Palm site entitled PalmDocs. It includes a number of well-constructed iSilo documents, and a nice tutorial on creating hyperlinked medical references using Netscape Composer, among other things. Thanks to Andrew Schechtman for the link!
posted by Kent 8:51 PM | |

May 16, 2002

 
Show Me The Evidence!

You now have access to the latest scientific evidence wherever and whenever you need it. The popular publication Clinical Evidence is now available on two separate platforms (AvantGo and CogniQ) and both are free for a trial period after you register. You can compare both platforms and choose the software you prefer at www.clinicalevidence.com. The CogniQ software delivers quick-reference sections of Clinical Evidence and the latest table of contents and abstracts from the BMJ and BMJ Specialist Journals. You can request the full text for content of interest; on synchronization, the requests are sent to your personal library on the web where you can link to the full text of Clinical Evidence and BMJ journals as well as perform sophisticated searches of MEDLINE. Thanks to Steve Burdette for pointing this out!
posted by Kent 8:00 AM | |

May 15, 2002

 
In The News

Despite what you may have heard, the death of the Palm OS has been greatly exaggerated. Over the last eight weeks alone, Palm OS retail market share has increased by more than 10 percent, to 87.2 percent of the U.S. market, (NPDTechworld, Weekly U.S. Retail Data, February 17 to April 7, 2002).
posted by Kent 7:52 AM | |

 
Those of you using both Palm OS and Pocket PC handhelds might want to check out the new beta version of iSilo for Pocket PC, available here.
posted by Kent 7:23 AM | |

May 6, 2002

 
Medical students might want to check out the McGill Medical PDA User's Group site. Along with the usual links to recommended hardware and software, this site takes things a step further by providing detailed reviews and practical tips for maximizing the use of handheld computers in medical school.
posted by Kent 7:54 AM | |

May 5, 2002

 
A disease, by any other name...

Mathias Tschopp, author of MedCalc, has teamed up with Andrew Yee to create a standalone version of Andrew's Medical Eponyms collection, long available in a variety of database formats. Can't recall what Rovsing's sign looks like, or what a Virchow's node is? You'll find the answers here!
posted by Kent 3:17 PM | |

May 4, 2002

 
ePocrates qRx vs. mobilePDR

Although mobilePDR is a nice addition to the Palm OS software library (and a Godsend for Pocket PC users), I still prefer ePocrates qRx for overall functionality, usability, and (significantly) memory footprint.

CLINICAL CONTENT	ePocrates Rx/ePocrates Rx Formulary	Mobile PDR
# Monographs	2,600	1,500
Content Sources	FDA approved information, primary literature, clinical guidelines, specialty recommendations, and expert opinion	FDA approved information
Off-Label Indications	Yes	No
Generics	Yes	Yes (significantly less than ePocrates)
Adult Dosing	Yes	Yes, limited to FDA-approved dosing
Peds Dosing	Yes	Yes, limited to FDA-approved dosing
Renal Dosing	Yes	Yes
Drug Interactions	Yes	Yes
Comprehensiveness	Content includes effect, mechanism and resulting action for each drug	Information varies by drug
Multiple Drug Interaction Lookup	Yes	Yes
Content Integration	Drug monograph and MultiCheck interaction content come from a single, integrated database which provides consistent data	Drug monograph and Multi Drug Check interaction content come from two completely separate databases, which often results in inconsistent information
Cost Information	Yes	No
Regimens and Tables	Yes	No
Adverse Reactions	Yes, content classified into serious and common	Yes, no classification based on severity
Mechanism of Action	Yes	No
Metabolism	Yes	No
Excretion	Yes	No
DEA Status	Yes	No
Contraindications/Cautions	Yes	Yes
Packaging Info	Yes	Yes
Pregnancy Code	Yes	Yes
Notes Section	Yes	Yes
Drug Warnings	Yes (FDA black box warnings incorporated into multiple ePocrates Rx sections (contraindications, drug interactions, adverse reactions, etc)	Yes (Black Box Warning Section)
Indication Look Up	Yes (Find feature)	Yes (Navigation by indication)
Create and Edit Categories	Yes	No
PDR Pages References	No	Yes
Herbal Drug Monographs	No (currently in development)	No
Herbal Interactions	No (Fully integrated, comprehensive content in development)	Yes (Limited information)
ADDITIONAL FEATURES/FUNCTIONALITY	ePocrates Rx/ ePocrates Rx Formulary	Mobile PDR
Formulary Information from Health Plans	Yes	No
Updatable	Yes (AutoUpdate feature)	Yes
Alert Messaging	Yes (DocAlerts)	Yes (What's New)
Pop-Up Windows	Yes, minimizes need to scroll	No
Content Layout	Simple lists, short text	Full sentences, wrapping text
Navigation	Navigation by drug or class	Navigation by drug, class or indication
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS	ePocrates Rx/ ePocrates Rx Formulary	Mobile PDR
OS Compatibility	Palm OS	Palm OS and Pocket PC
Memory Requirement	1.3 - 1.5 MB (differs by version)	4.8 MB (1.9MB for drug monographs only and 2.9MB for Multi Drug Check)

posted by Kent 12:34 AM | |

May 1, 2002

 
mobilePDR available!

Better late than never, mobilePDR is now available for Palm OS and Pocket PC devices. You have to register for an account (free) on PDR.net before you can download, but it only takes a second. The program is available in different versions depending on how much free memory you have available. The reference-only version takes up 1.9MB, while the reference plus interaction module takes 4.7MB. The program includes a conduit with AutoUpdate-like functionality, including news items that update each time you HotSync. These can be read and deleted, or saved for later review. Drug monographs are brief, distilling the information in the PDR down to the bare essentials. The program lets you view drug monographs either by an alpha lookup, or by indication or therapeutic class. The interaction module lets you select several drugs and quickly check for interactions between them. All in all, mobilePDR looks like a reasonable alternative to ePocrates qRx and the Tarascon ePharmacopoeia, although it is considerably larger than ePocrates qRx, which provides similar functionality. Users who have remained untrusting of the information contained in ePocrates qRx (for whatever reason) may be more comfortable with mobilePDR. Like the "real" PDR, however, you'll find no information on off-label use. mobilePDR is also notable as the first free drug reference available for the PocketPC platform. Check it out!
posted by Kent 10:29 PM | |

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