What's New

April 11, 2005

 
PDAs Improve Asthma Treatment

Physicians participating in a yearlong study at the University of Virginia found that handheld computer software helped them better diagnose and treat asthma patients. Nine physicians in the Charlottesville, VA area participated in the study, which was sponsored by the Medical Society of Virginia.

The physicians loaded their own PDAs with decision support software for asthma care co-designed by the American Association of Family Physicians and Frank Domino, M.D., associate professor of family medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. The software is based on asthma classification guidelines developed by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program. It offers treatment guidelines for each level of asthma, peak flow calculators and medication dosing, and prompts physicians to identify triggers and schedule patient education visits.

Participating physicians, who still are using the software, tested it with asthma patients from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2004. They found that it helped them recognize and understand asthma classifications faster and encouraged them to classify patients according to the guidelines. It also helped their patients learn about their asthma treatment.

Source: Mobile Health Data
posted by Kent 8:32 PM | |

Visit the Archives for previous news items.