What's New

December 24, 2002

 
5 Minute Clinical Consult 2003 - Over 80% Updated

5MCC 2003 is the handheld version of Griffith's 5-Minute Clinical Consult 2003, an invaluable and unique clinical reference for students and practitioners. It covers thousands of topics that are indexed along with terms and medications so that you can find information quickly. Review the Basics, Diagnosis, Differential Diagnosis, Treatment, Medications, Follow-Up, and other important considerations on your favorite handheld device.

With 80% of its topics updated to reflect newly released drugs, ICD-9-CM codes, and new diagnostic studies and eight brand new topic areas, 5MCC 2003 is a must-have reference for any practitioner.
posted by Kent 4:39 PM | |

December 23, 2002

 
Skyscape Brings Special Operations Forces Medical Handbook to the PDA

Today, Skyscape announced the availability of the Special Operations Forces Medical Handbook from Teton NewMedia for the PDA. The content was created by the United States Special Operations Command, Office of the Command Surgeon, and over 80 medical specialists, and is now the unified reference for Special Forces combat medics in all branches of the Armed Forces.

The Special Operation Forces Medical Handbook provides treatment protocols organized by symptoms and affected organ system, including specialty areas such as trauma, infectious disease and toxicology. It also has guides for critical procedures, surgeries and basic medical skills, with information on how to handle specific environmental hazards including altitude and temperature related illness, chemical injuries and exposures.

The Skyscape-powered PDA reference contains the entire content of the book, including 270 images and 50 tables. It will help medical professionals in the Armed Forces and civilians to gain access to the information they need, and provides all doctors, nurses and EMTs with a handy reference guide for when they know they will be away from their typical working environment.
posted by Kent 9:33 PM | |

December 19, 2002

 
Kyocera 7135 is Here!

The new Kyocera 7135 will be available in the United States from Alltel Wireless beginning tomorrow, December 20. Consumers can visit any Alltel retailer or Kyocera's online store to purchase a 7135 and Alltel service plan. The phone will retail for $499.

The Palm OS-based Kyocera 7135 features CDMA2000 1X technology that enables peak data speeds of 153 Kbps. Kyocera says it is the only converged device on the market to offer a 65,000-color display, Assisted GPS (A-GPS) technology, an expansion card slot compatible with both MultiMediaCard (MMC) and SD card standards, and an onboard MP3 player.

The 6.6-ounce phone also incorporates a speakerphone, voice-activated dialing, silent vibrating alert, two-way SMS text messaging, e-mail, and three modes of Web access (HTML, Web Clipping and WAP). It runs the Palm OS v4.1 and includes 16MB of memory.

The tri-mode Kyocera 7135 operates on CDMA PCS (1900 MHz), CDMA cellular (800 MHz) and analog cellular networks. A standard lithium ion battery provides up to 3.5 hours of talk time and up to 160 hours of standby time in digital mode.
posted by Kent 8:01 PM | |

December 18, 2002

 
ePocrates Expiration Date

Those of you who are still using older versions of ePocrates products may want to update soon in order to avoid any inconvenience caused by their expiration. The final expiration date for ePocrates Rx 4.0, ePocrates Rx Formulary 5.5 and ePocrates ID 1.0 is set for January 31st, 2003. The latest versions of ePocrates Rx (free ePocrates Rx 6.0 and premium ePocrates Rx Pro) may be downloaded at: www.epocrates.com.
posted by Kent 7:52 PM | |

 
Palm Handheld Sales Surpass 20 Million Mark

According to this press release, Palm has sold more than 20 million handhelds to consumers, mobile professionals and businesses around the world. Spurred by the sales of its two new products, the Zire and Tungsten T, Palm branded devices continue to be the world's most popular handhelds.
posted by Kent 7:45 PM | |

 
EVMS Palm OS Support Page

I just realized that my alma mater, Eastern Virginia Medical School, has their own Palm OS Support Page. Although it doesn't appear to have been updated very recently, there are some good beginner tips and links to be found there.
posted by Kent 7:41 PM | |

December 11, 2002

 
PDAs Key Emerging Technology for Physicians

Manhattan Research, a healthcare marketing information and services firm, recently announced seven key trends related to physicians and emerging information technologies in the year 2003.

In regards to the use of personal digital assistants, the company said its research found that handheld technology has come of age. According to Manhattan Research, approximately 35% of practicing physicians are actively using a PDA. Almost two-thirds of physicians using a PDA are actively using an Rx reference database on their PDA.

In addition to the increased adoption of these mobile devices in general, the company said improvements in the form factor and underlying technology, as well as the competitive pricing of new Windows CE devices, will drive significant growth and value in this market segment.

Other physician technology trend include the emergence of robust practice Web sites; some specialists have become very dependent on the Web; patient connectivity is still on hold; health plan portals have become viable a customer service option; and after a very tough year, electronic prescribing makes a comeback with new backers.

Source: PDAStreet.com
posted by Kent 7:13 PM | |

December 10, 2002

 
CME in the Palm of your Hand

Physicians who use handheld computers to access evidence-based medical information while caring for patients will now have the opportunity to earn continuing medical education (CME) credit for their efforts. The American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine (ACP-ASIM) announced its participation in a pilot program with the American Medical Association (AMA) to provide AMA PRA category 1 CME credit to physicians using PIER (Physicians' Information and Education Resource), ACP-ASIM's evidence- based clinical decision support tool, integrated with TouchWorks clinical software from Allscripts Healthcare Solutions.

During the 18-month pilot program to investigate ways to award CME credit, ACP-ASIM will use TouchWorks to monitor physician use of PIER during patient encounters. The results will help determine standards for awarding CME credit to physicians who seek point-of-care evidence-based answers to clinical questions.

The AMA and ACP-ASIM said they hope to encourage physicians to use evidence-based medicine in regular practice. During the pilot program, the AMA will award up to 10 AMA PRA category 1 credits to physicians who access ACP-ASIM's PIER using the TouchWorks wireless handheld application from Allscripts Healthcare Solutions. ACP-ASIM and the AMA will review physician activity from PIER and TouchWorks to determine appropriate equivalencies for evidence-based medicine learning and CME.

PIER offers peer-reviewed, evidence-based guidance on the diagnosis and treatment of disease, and links to articles and patient information across nearly 300 disease-specific modules. More than 500 physician-experts develop PIER guidance statements based on a rigorous review of current medical evidence.

Source: PDAStreet.com
posted by Kent 11:01 PM | |

December 6, 2002

 
Natural Medicine References

Skyscape recently announced three new natural medicine and alternative therapies references for PDAs, including the Guide to Popular Natural Products (GNP) published by Facts and Comparisons, a complete version of Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database published by Therapeutic Research Corporation and the Nursing Herbal Medicine Handbook published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. The new natural medicine and alternative guides are slated to be available over the next several weeks.
posted by Kent 7:03 PM | |

 
Doctors put patient charts in palms of their hands

Here's a nice little article in the Spokane Journal of Business regarding the use of Mercury MD software at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington (presumably not the same Sacred Heart as shown on Scrubs ;-) ). Mercury MD is getting rave reviews, and with a recent (as-yet unannounced) partnership with MD Coder to offer an integrated coding and billing solution, it seems to be getting better all the time.
posted by Kent 6:16 PM | |

December 3, 2002

 
Software to help your billing—and your bottom line

Charge capture programs can speed up reimbursement and improve accuracy, but are they for you? This well-done article in the ACP-ASIM Observer reviews several such programs.
posted by Kent 10:39 PM | |

December 2, 2002

 
Palm Healthcare Resources

I just ran across several useful documents in Adobe PDF format on the Palm web site. Since I couldn't find them linked anywhere on the Palm Healthcare Solutions page, I thought I'd list them here:

Security Brief: Implementing HIPAA-Compliant Palm Handheld Solutions (PDF: 346 KB / 4 pages) Security technologies are available for the Palm platform to help healthcare organizations implement HIPAA-compliant handheld solutions. This planning brief discusses security technologies and products that are compatible with Palm handhelds.

Personal Information Management for the Healthcare Professional (PDF: 516 KB / 4 pages) Learn how many healthcare providers are using their Palm handhelds to mange their busy work lives.

Healthcare FAQ (PDF: 257 KB / 8 pages) The power of Palm in Healthcare: the most frequently asked questions on handhelds in the industry.

Why Palm Handhelds are the Best Choice in Healthcare (PDF: 294 KB / 2 pages) Healthcare organizations use Palm handhelds to more efficiently manage the business and improve patient safety and satisfaction.
posted by Kent 11:15 PM | |

Visit the Archives for previous news items.