What's New

September 29, 2004

 
Anybody Using Bluefish Rx?

Anybody out there using Bluefish Rx? Their limited demo makes it a little tough to give it a thorough evaluation. I'm considering upgrading to a Bluetooth-compatible PDA soon, and I like the idea of sending prescriptions to a Bluetooth-compatible printer from the exam room. If anybody has any experience with the program, good or bad, please use the comment feature (below) to chime in. Thanks!
posted by Kent 4:39 PM | |

 
My Next PDA?

I've been holding onto my venerable Palm m515 until something better comes along. I like the Tungsten E, as it closely matches the form factor of my m515, but am irked that PalmOne neglected to provide a cradle. I'd also like to have a "virtual" Graffiti area like the Tungsten T3, but I don't like the sliding mechanism. Well, it appears that my next PDA may be on the horizon. This article on PalmInfoCenter shows photos of a device (the long-anticipated Tungsten T5?) that appears to incorporate both a cradle and a virtual Graffiti area in a Tungsten E form factor. Cool! As long as it has at least 64MB of RAM (rumors suggest it may have up to 256MB) and can HotSync to my Mac, I'm sold!


posted by Kent 4:18 PM | |

September 24, 2004

 
MercuryMD Connects With AT&T

MercuryMD, which offers software to link hand-held devices to existing hospital information systems, has struck a deal with AT&T Wireless that will enable physicians to access patient data over AT&T's GSM/GPRS wireless data network from anywhere the network is available. Physicians must subscribe to the AT&T service and use a Treo 600 smartphone or an Audiovox PPC4100. The AT&T wireless data network covers 7,500 cities in the United States.

Earlier this year, MercuryMD announced a similar partnership with Sprint, enabling physicians to connect with their hospitals' MercuryMD system through Sprint's national PCS network.

Anyone who has used MercuryMD will appreciate the quantum leap in functionality that wireless connectivity can offer compared to current HotSync-based updates.

Source: Mobile Health Data
posted by Kent 5:43 PM | |

 
Survey Says...

A couple of interesting surveys came out this week.

The first comes from Manhattan Research, a health care marketing firm that specializes in information technology, who estimate that 235,400 physicians in the United States use a PDA for professional and personal matters. In addition, about half of the physicians who do not use a PDA are considering purchasing one. However, some physicians remain skeptical of the benefits of PDAs and applications such as e-prescribing, and are not convinced that they're cost-effective.

The second comes from AvantGo, who recently polled 3,260 users for its 2004 Mobile Lifestyle survey, and report that 85% of Microsoft Windows Mobile users and 82% of Palm OS users saying they plan to stick with the same operating system for their next purchase. Apparently, brand loyalty is something hospitals have to take into account as they deploy PDA applications for physicians. 50% of the respondents reported owning Palm OS devices, while 40% used Microsoft Windows Mobile handhelds.
posted by Kent 5:35 PM | |

September 22, 2004

 
ImpactRx to Equip 1000 Physicians with Treos

ImpactRx, an innovative provider of market insight to the pharmaceutical industry, has purchased several hundred Treo 600 smartphones from palmOne for its longitudinal physician network. The devices will be used to collect information that is used to measure the relationship between pharmaceutical sales activities and physician prescribing behavior. ImpactRx has been a palmOne customer since 2001, and has previously deployed palmOne Zire and Tungsten handhelds using the Sprint network.

Source: TreoCentral
posted by Kent 11:50 AM | |

September 20, 2004

 
Free PDA Software!

The folks at PocketMedicine invite you to obtain their all-original-content programs for PDA's...FREE! (Well, almost...a charge of $10.00 per copy of each program ordered for registration and customer support will apply).

PocketMedicine offers outstanding programs, prepared expressly for PDA's by leading authorities in Internal Medicine and its subspecialties; Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, General Surgery, Anesthesiology, Orthopaedics, and more. Their highly regarded Treatment Strategies programs are also included in this limited-time offer.

Visit the PocketMedicine Web site and enter the Coupon Code TR3726 at checkout to obtain this special offer. Free trial demos are available, so you can judge for yourself in advance just how good the programs are.
posted by Kent 7:25 PM | |

September 19, 2004

 
Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment

McGraw-Hill Medical Publishing has joined the 21st century with an online version of the popular medical textbook Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment. Physicians can access the digital book via the Web, and can also download sections of the text onto their PDAs. Access is free until Oct. 31, after which it will cost $79 for an annual subscription.

Personally, I think they should offer an auto-updating PDA version of the entire book alongside the Web version, and include both in the annual subscription fee. IMHO, this would give them a competitive advantage over similar products. As it stands, downloading selected sections to your PDA seems a bit cumbersome, and less "current" than it could be.
posted by Kent 9:01 AM | |

September 15, 2004

 
Medications & Mothers’ Milk 2004, 11th Ed.

The breastfeeding reference that I mentioned on August 3 is now available from Skyscape.

Now in its eleventh edition, Medications and Mothers’ Milk is a worldwide best-selling reference for evaluating medication use in breastfeeding mothers. Since its original publication in 1992, Medications and Mothers’ Milk has quickly become the most comprehensive source throughout the world for professionals and for mothers seeking the best pharmacological advice on breastfeeding. The reader will find exact data on the degree of transfer of medications into human milk, the effect on mother and infant, and the relative risk to the infant. This all-inclusive reference contains the most current information available in this field including new studies and additional drug entries.

Written by renowned Clinical Pharmacologist, Dr. Thomas W. Hale, Medications and Mothers’ Milk provides the reader with easy to understand explanations of how drugs enter milk, their problems if any, and the relative safety of their use in breastfeeding mothers.

New features:

• More than 80 new drugs have been added.
• Numerous recent drug studies have been added to the monographs.
• A new appendix with tables on cold remedies, radioactive agents, etc.
• The Relative Infant Dose is now calculated and provided for numerous drugs.
• Calculate Theoratic Infant Dose and Relative Infant Dose right on your PDA.

posted by Kent 8:24 AM | |

September 14, 2004

 
Clinical Constellation

Skyscape today announced Clinical Constellation, the most comprehensive and integrated suite of decision support resources for handheld devices. Building on the success of other specialty Constellation Suites released earlier in the year, the Clinical Constellation continues the Skyscape tradition of bringing trusted and reputable information for use by clinicians at the point of care.

Clinical Constellation offers an intuitive, all-in-one solution providing unparalleled and detailed coverage of critical information about drugs, diseases, interactions, lab information, treatment options and guidelines. The suite includes Griffith's 5-Minute Clinical Consult, 2004 Pocket Book of Infectious Disease Therapy, The AHFS Dosing Companion, Bakerman's ABC's of Interpretive Laboratory Data, The Medical Letter's Handbook of Adverse Drug Interactions, The Guide to Popular Natural Products, ICD-9-CM classification codes, the Archimedes medical calculator and ARTbeat dynamic information channels.
posted by Kent 11:01 AM | |

September 6, 2004

 
Are you ready for the 2005 ICD-9 changes?

The 2005 updates to ICDMeister, CodeMeister, and NCDMeister are now available from MeisterMed! Requires iSilo.
posted by Kent 10:26 PM | |

 
Terrorism: The Medical Response 2005

With Terrorism: The Medical Response 2005, Pacific Primary Care has created an affordable medical reference text with detailed step-by-step procedures, work-ups and treatments.

Topics include:

• Biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons
• Nerve agents
• Radiation
• Acute radiation syndromes and treatments
• Biotoxins
• Civilian defense recommendations
• Decontamination procedures
• Odors and detection
• Infection control protocols
• Respiratory protection
• Explosions and blast injuries
• Management of mass casualty situations per 2004 CDC recommendations
• Mass trauma casualty predictor

Also includes a complete synopsis on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of: anthrax, plague, tularemia, brucellosis, smallpox, hemorrhagic viral fevers, Q-fever, botulism, radiation poisoning, staph toxin, ricin toxin, melioidosis, T-2 mycotoxin.

Fully referenced. Requires either iSilo or the MobiPocket Reader.
posted by Kent 9:19 AM | |

September 3, 2004

 
Eye Can See Clearly Now...

Here's a new ophthalmology calculator that lets you compute intraocular lens power and a bunch of other stuff I don't understand. But hey, the price is right (free!)
posted by Kent 6:59 PM | |

September 2, 2004

 
New Skyscape Titles

Obstetrics and Gynecology Recall, 2nd Ed.: Facilitates rapid review and memorization of the key concepts encountered during the OB/GYN rotation with a concise question-and-answer format.

Atlas of Primary Care Procedures: A convenient how-to guide to more than 70 medical procedures most commonly performed in an office setting.

Manual of Emergency Airway Management, 2nd Ed.: Offers step-by-step instructions on techniques, drug administration, and prevention and management of complications and includes extensive coverage of difficult clinical scenarios.

Poisoning & Drug Overdose: The best manual on the diagnosis and treatment of poisoning and drug overdose.

Handbook of Cancer Risk Assessment and Prevention: Information to help you reach your patients with up-to-date, engaging messages about how they can lower their cancer risk.

Nurse’s Fast Facts: Your Quick Source for Core Clinical Content, 3rd Ed.: A compilation of all of those hard-to-remember procedures, calculations, lab values, and interactions.
posted by Kent 6:11 PM | |

 
Handheldmed Finds a Natural Fit

Handheldmed has partnered with Natural Standard to make information on complementary and alternative medicine available on PDAs. Natural Standard compiles research on the effectiveness, safety and history of herbs, supplements and alternative health therapies.

Source: Mobile Health Data
posted by Kent 6:09 PM | |

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