What's New

December 31, 2003

 
For Those About To Switch...

A couple of years ago, there seemed to be a trend wherein so-called "power users" were switching from Palm OS devices to Pocket PCs, although not exactly in droves, but at least often enough to result in numerous online articles detailing the best strategies for making the transition. One of those users was Jeff Kirvin, of Writing On Your Palm. Now, it seems that the pendulum is swinging the other way. Newer Palm OS devices outperform Pocket PCs in many respects, and Microsoft's recent de-emphasis of Pocket PC in favor of Tablet PCs and SmartPhones has left some Pocket PC users feeling abandoned. To assist these users in making the switch back to the Palm OS, Jeff has written a two-part article:

Palm for Pocket PC Users, Part 1
Palm for Pocket PC Users, Part 2

As they say, what goes around, comes around. ;-)
posted by Kent 3:27 PM | |

December 30, 2003

 
Pediatrics On Hand

Pediatrics On Hand has recently been overhauled, and is looking pretty good! In addition to a snazzy new look, the site includes separate sections devoted to medical professionals and parents, as well as a section on handheld basics. Valuable additions include full-length reviews of popular software applications, an extensive listing of pediatric applications organized by specialty area, and lots of pediatric and handheld computing links.
posted by Kent 10:41 PM | |

December 29, 2003

 
Where Are All The Urology References?

A friend of mine who's a urologist and a hard-core gadget nut pointed out to me the other day that there are virtually no handheld urology references out there. Hard to believe, but it's true. No Campbell's Urology, no Five Minute Urology Consult (although Skyscape seems to have released every other Five Minute clinical reference imaginable). The only things I've run across are Carl Weber's primary care-oriented Clinical Urology and PocketMedicine's Kidney and Urologic Disease, which is a subset of their internal med reference. If anyone does know of any decent urology references in handheld format, let me know!
posted by Kent 5:39 PM | |

December 22, 2003

 
DrFirst Links to ePocrates

DrFirst recently announced an agreement with ePocrates, Inc. that allows users of the ePocrates Rx drug reference guide and the ePocrates Rx Pro premium clinical reference suite to connect with DrFirst’s Rcopia e-Prescribing product. By linking the two applications on handheld devices, physicians now have the power to:

• Access ePocrates’ unbiased, award-winning drug reference guide along with its information on contraindications, adverse reactions, drug interactions, off-label indications and formulary coverage, in an easy-to-use format
  
• Write prescriptions and beforehand, check for drug-drug and drug-allergy interactions and compliance with major insurer’s formularies (approved list of drugs)
  
• Carry their entire patient population, with the patient’s active medication and allergy lists, on their handheld device -- giving the ability to access patient data, review medication information, and write prescriptions whether or not connected to the Internet
  
• Be truly mobile by using devices that connect through both local area wireless (such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth) or wide area wireless (using "all-in-one" cell phone, PDA, pager, and messaging devices)
  
• Connect with other participants in the prescription fulfillment process
  
• Add Rcopia’s Charge Capture, Scheduling, and Clinical Messaging functionality

Utilizing the latest advancements in Internet, security, wireless and Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) technology, DrFirst provides a suite of integrated, affordable, intuitive and easily implemented products and services to the healthcare community. DrFirst’s products include e-prescribing, charge capture, and secure messaging. These comprehensive solutions solve critical communication, business productivity and clinical needs of physicians, clinics, hospitals and health systems.
posted by Kent 10:00 PM | |

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 | |

December 11, 2003

 
Handhelds Aid in Disaster Relief

Disaster relief teams in Michigan and Iowa have begun using PDAs to help speed data collection. Both teams are using TracerPlus hand-held data collection software from Manorville, N.Y.-based Portable Technology Solutions, LLC and PDA-enabled barcode scanners from Symbol Technologies Inc., Holtsville, N.Y., in their relief efforts. The TracerPlus software runs on the Palm OS operating system.

Both teams give triage patients a barcode identification tag. When the team has any interaction with a patient, such as applying bandages or administering medications, they document the information and scan the identification tag with the PDA. The information is then stored in the TracerPlus software.

The relief teams also use the software to match a patient's bar-coded identification tag with bar-coded bandages, medications and assessments. All information is periodically downloaded from the PDAs to an on-site laptop PC for recordkeeping.

The Michigan District 1 Regional Medical Response Team also purchased additional TracerPlus software and Symbol PDA-enabled barcode scanners to be used in its 12 hospitals.

Reference: Mobile Health Data
posted by Kent 6:51 PM | |

December 10, 2003

 
Carolinas Healthcare, Largest System in the Carolinas, Implements MercuryMD's Mobile Solution

MercuryMD has announced that Carolinas HealthCare System, based in Charlotte, NC, has successfully implemented MercuryMD's MData Enterprise System. The mobile patient data system has been deployed to over 700 community, attending, and resident physicians at 9 acute care facilities, including Carolinas Medical Center - its 777-bed flagship hospital named by US News & World Report in 2003 as one of America's Best Hospitals for the fourth consecutive year. As of the end of November, Carolinas HealthCare has deployed MData across nine acute care facilities serving a total of 2400-beds.
posted by Kent 10:39 AM | |

 
FIRSTConsult Handheld

FIRSTConsult Handheld, from Elsevier, is integrated with MDConsult and runs on all popular Palm OS and Pocket PC devices.

Subscribers can download from a choice of 2, 6 or 10MB FIRSTConsult Handheld versions, depending on individual memory requirements to suit different devices.

The 10MB version - Differential Diagnosis and comprehensive information on Medical Conditions contains:

• Diagnostic tables covering over 350 complaints, across 6 age ranges
  
• Links to Summaries of over 1,500 diagnoses, across 12 clinical benchmarks
  
• Over 475 highly structured, condition-specific Medical Condition Files covering...Description - Complications - Drugs and Other Therapies - Signs and Symptoms - Codes - Common Causes - Risk Factors - Prognosis - Tests - Differential Diagnosis - Urgent Action
  
• Plus information on over 750 drugs and other therapies, including...Dose - Side Effects and Adverse Reactions - Efficacy - Risks and Benefits - Interactions - Patient and Caregiver Information - Contraindications - Acceptability to Patients

For more information, visit the FIRSTConsult home page.
posted by Kent 10:02 AM | |

December 9, 2003

 
Coming Soon: ePocrates Dx

ePocrates has announced the planned upcoming release of ePocrates Dx, their newest clinical reference program for Palm OS devices, designed to help clinicians save time and improve patient care every day.

Powered by Griffith's 5-Minute Clinical Consult, ePocrates Dx will help you quickly and easily access comprehensive information on over 1,200 diseases and conditions.

ePocrates Dx will also include many valuable features that set it apart from other clinical reference programs:

• Continually updated!
  
• Integrated with ePocrates Rx and ePocrates Rx Pro
  
• Designed to be as easy to use as ePocrates Rx
  
• Supplemented with content provided by the ePocrates Medical Editors
  
• Streamlined to take up less memory on your PDA

ePocrates plans to release ePocrates Dx for Palm OS devices synchronized with Windows computers early next year. Stay tuned!


posted by Kent 7:29 PM | |

December 5, 2003

 
PDAs a Blessing for St. Mary's

In the six months that physicians at Evansville, Ind.-based St. Mary's Health System have used PDAs, they have been able to treat patients more effectively and efficiently, claims Scott Krodel, director of information systems. The delivery system purchased 130 Tungsten C PDAs from Milpitas, Calif.-based palmOne Inc. in June, shortly after the mobile hardware was introduced.

Since then, St. Mary's has implemented various applications on the PDAs that are helping its physicians during routine patient care. For example, caregivers immediately began using software from MercuryMD Inc., Durham, N.C., that mobilized the organization's lab and medication administration applications. Physicians also can access vital signs, EKG reports and other data on the PDAs via the delivery system's wireless local area network.

Additionally, St. Mary's physicians are using medical reference applications from San Mateo, Calif.-based ePocrates Inc. and Greenwood Village, Colo.-based Micromedex on the PDAs at the point of care. Micromedex and Mobile Health Data are separate divisions of the Thomson Corp., Toronto.
posted by Kent 7:17 PM | |

 
Griffith's 5-Minute Clinical Consult, 2004

Griffith's 5-Minute Clinical Consult (5MCC), 2004 from Unbound Medicine is now available. 5MCC ($64.95) covers more than 1,000 medical/surgical conditions and is indexed with over 7,500 terms and medications to help students and practitioners locate desired information quickly. Users can select subjects from the "Topics", "Medications" or "ICD-9 Codes" indexes and then review the Basics, Diagnosis, Treatment, Medications, Follow-up, and other considerations. The 2004 edition adds new topics such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and updates to more than 70% of the topics already included in that last version.


posted by Kent 7:08 PM | |

December 3, 2003

 
Skyscape Offers Holiday Discounts

In celebration of the Holiday season, Skyscape is offering 15% off your order when you puchase any 2 references, or 20% when you purchase any 3 or more references. Plus, The International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9 CM) is yours FREE with any Skyscape purchase - a $29.95 value! Receive this free offer when you checkout with any other product.
posted by Kent 7:03 PM | |

 
New PDA Medical References

Unbound Medicine has released six new medical reference applications for PDAs. The CogniQ Pediatrics Series software is designed to offer information for physicians, nurses and medical students at the point of care.

Each CogniQ application includes the vendor's Medline medical literature management service. The service delivers an abstract of an article from the publications to the physician's PDA. If the physician wants to read the full text, they can sync their PDA and link to the full article from the journal publisher.

Unbound Medicine's new reference applications include:

• CoqniQ Pediatrics-Silver, which includes the "Pocket Pediatrics" guide to disease and disorder management.
  
  
• CogniQ Pediatrics-Gold, which includes the "Pocket Pediatrics" guide and the "A to Z Drug Facts" drug database that offers information on more than 900 generic and 3,900 brand name medications.
  
  
• CogniQ Pediatrics-Platinum, which includes "Pocket Pediatrics," "A to Z Drug Facts," and "Drug Interaction Facts," a drug interaction guide.
  
  
• CogniQ Pediatrics-Neonatology, which includes "Pocket Neonatology," a guide to neonatal conditions and diseases.
  
  
• CogniQ Pediatrics-Treatment Strategies, which includes "Treatment Strategies in Pediatrics," a guide for the management of pediatric diseases.
  
  
• CogniQ Pediatrics-Chief Complaints, which includes "Chief Complaints in Pediatrics," a reference guide for a wide range of signs and symptoms for pediatrics.

posted by Kent 5:27 PM | |

December 2, 2003

 
Great New Freeware Additions to the Medical iSilo Depot

More than 30 new medical references have been added to the Medical iSilo Depot, and most of them are free! A sampling of the new additions includes:

• Anesthesia Medication Guide (FREE) - a succinct quick reference guide to medications used in anesthesia.
  
• Congenital Heart Defects (FREE) - beautiful color graphics illustrate all the common congenital heart defects.
  
• Febrile Neutropenia (FREE) - a quick reference for the work-up and treatment of fever in the neutropenic patient.
  
• West Nile Virus 2003 (FREE) - get up-to-date on this emerging infectious disease.
  
• Pediatric Surgery Handbook (FREE) - an iSilo compilation of a free online surgery handbook.
  

Check it out!
posted by Kent 10:14 PM | |

 
Preview: PapMeister

Coming in January 2004, MeisterMed's newest free iSilo reference for the medical PDA user. PapMeister details absolutely everything you need to know about cervical cancer screening from current screening guidelines to the management of abnormal Pap smears.
posted by Kent 10:10 PM | |

December 1, 2003

 
Tungsten C In The Hospital

PalmOne is touting the success of its Wi-Fi enabled Tungsten C handhelds in the healthcare market, as the devices are now deployed in hospitals, medical centers and doctor's offices across the United States.

The company claims the Tungsten C addresses healthcare professionals' need for real-time access to information with a device that fits comfortably in their lab coat pocket. With the integrated Wi-Fi (802.11b) users can connect to existing Wi-Fi networks and access patient records and drug databases at the point of care.

Click here for the full article.
posted by Kent 7:03 PM | |

 
eMedicine PDA e-Books

eMedicine offers a large selection of eBooks in MobiPocket format. Individual books are available for $49.00, or you can sign up for a $99.00 annual subscription giving you access to all 65 textbooks, covering virtually every disease and condition. All eMedicine volumes are written by physicians, undergo 5 layers of peer review, and are updated 24/7. The purchase price includes unlimited updates for an entire year.
posted by Kent 6:56 PM | |

 
eResidency SkillStat

SkillStat is a standalone Palm OS application containing to-the-point information on over fifty of the most commonly performed procedures in the hospital. Find information on indications, equipment, technique, positioning, pearls, and complications.

Requirements: Requires Palm OS 1.0 and 146K of available RAM.


posted by Kent 6:53 PM | |

Visit the Archives for previous news items.