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December 15, 2003

 
"Survey says..."

Respondents to a Skyscape survey stated that PDA use provides significant benefits by enabling them to spend more time with patients, while still treating more each day, and by improving the overall quality of patient care. Specific results include:

• More than 88 percent of doctors use their PDAs at least four times a day, with 15 percent using their PDAs more than 25 times a day.
  
• When asked how they use their PDAs, 72 percent of doctors reported they rely on their PDA for treatment purposes­primarily using it for drug references, clinical references, drug interaction guides or hospital treatment guidelines.
  
• Almost 90 percent of the doctors concluded that PDAs help them provide better care.
  
• Over 85 percent of physician respondents agreed that by using a PDA they had decreased the number of potential medical errors. And more than 50 percent communicated that by using a PDA they were able to eliminate over 4 percent of medical errors.
  
• When asked to quantify the specific benefits PDAs bring to their daily practice, almost 20 percent of respondents concluded that PDA use enables them to treat at least three more patients a day, with another 20 percent of respondents concluding that they can treat 1 – 2 additional patients per day.
  
• Doctors do not just rely on one reference for their PDA. More than 70 percent of doctors have at least three medical references on their PDA and 22 percent have more than eight references.
  
• Medical software for PDAs is increasingly being integrated with other applications but there is still significant room for growth. In each case less than ten percent of medical professionals reported their PDA software is integrated with prescription, billing, charge capture or patient records systems.

Skyscape solutions are increasingly being adopted by leading medical institutions, and today more than 240,000 medical professionals rely on Skyscape-powered references. Over the next year, medical professionals will further increase their PDA usage, with industry analyst firm Forrester Research reporting that 90 percent of all health systems are engaged in a handheld project or are considering one.
posted by Kent 5:19 PM | |

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