What's New

April 29, 2005

 
PHQ-9 from StatCoder

StatCoder.com has begun beta testing a new tool based on the popular Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) screening & diagnostic tool for depression in primary care. The PHQ-9 is a nine-item scale that can be implemented by a clinician in a couple of minutes. Clinicians will find it useful in efficiently documenting the severity of depressive symptoms as well as objectively monitoring for improvement.

The Palm OS tool may be downloaded via the beta test page. Your feedback on this tool is welcome and appreciated.
posted by Kent 9:31 AM | |

April 28, 2005

 
CME in Hand

Would you like to assign one more task to your trusty Palm OS PDA? Then check out a new vehicle for delivering up-to-date clinical knowledge and for earning and recording CME credit for family physicians - CME in Hand. Unfortunately, there's no Mac OS-compatible version.
posted by Kent 11:23 PM | |

 
Splinting Manual

MeisterMed has just released the Splinting Manual for PDA, adapted from the Ortho-GlassŪ Splinting Course Manual (Fifth edition) with the permission of the publisher. Includes indications, techniques, and step-by-step instructions with illustrations for applying nineteen types of splints to the upper and lower extremities. A handy refresher for those who don't put on splints every day. Will also be a great teaching tool for medical students and residents. Requires iSilo. Freeware!


posted by Kent 5:00 PM | |

April 26, 2005

 
Beware of "Blackberry Thumb"

The American Society of Hand Therapists has issued a warning about overuse syndromes caused by popular electronic devices like PDAs and Blackberries.

"Handheld electronics may require prolonged grips, repetitive motion on small buttons and awkward wrist movements. This combination can lead to hand, wrist and arm ailments such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and tendonitis," said ASHT President Donna Breger Stanton, MA, OTR/L, CHT, FAOTA. "Many handheld electronics users spend hours on their BlackBerries and iPods every day, responding to e-mails and spooling through music lists and address books. These devices are immensely popular and they are getting smaller with even more features, which encourage heavy, extended use. More of the population could suffer hand ailments unless they learn to take preventive measures."

Click here to read the entire bulletin (in Adobe PDF format).
posted by Kent 5:42 PM | |

April 25, 2005

 
EasyPulse

Need to take a manual pulse? Forgot your wrist watch? No second hand? Not so good at math? Let EasyPulse do the work of calculating the heart rate for you. Simply count 20 beats using the start and stop and let EasyPulse determine the heart rate! Freeware!


posted by Kent 6:06 PM | |

April 20, 2005

 
Sanford Guide 2005 Free Beta Test

USBMIS is now beta testing The Sanford Guide 2005, PDA edition (free). The new version has even more great features than ever, helping you to find the right information on infectious disease etiologies, drug regimens and dosages, and complications more quickly and efficiently.

As always, the PDA version, for both Palm and Pocket PC platforms, contains the complete contents of the 35th edition of The Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy. The PDA navigation is highly intuitive and the simple web-like navigation will allow you to save time while still finding all the answers.
posted by Kent 7:45 PM | |

April 18, 2005

 
PDAs Ring Up Clinical Software

IQMax has enabled its hand-held clinical software to run over most mobile phone networks.

The vendor offers a suite of PDA-based clinical systems, including applications for dictation, charge capture, electronic prescribing, scheduling, formulary lists and rounding. The applications can be used on PDAs running the Palm OS or Windows Mobile operating systems.

Clinicians now can access the software on their PDAs via mobile phone networks that offer broadband data connectivity services, including the nationwide networks operated by Sprint and Cingular.

Source: Mobile Health Data
posted by Kent 5:49 PM | |

April 16, 2005

 
Handango Champion Award Finalists

Davis's Drug Guide from Unbound Medicine and BluefishRx have been named as finalists in the fifth annual Handango Champion Awards. The awards recognize outstanding mobile software. The finalists were determined by customer nomination on Handango and some of its partner sites. The winners will be determined by an independent panel of industry experts, and will be announced on June 23, 2005.
posted by Kent 7:54 AM | |

 
Tungsten E2 in Clinical Trials

palmOne has announced that Invivodata, an industry leader in electronic Patient Reported Outcome (ePRO) solutions for clinical research, has plans to deploy between 5,000 and 7,000 Tungsten E2 handhelds for use worldwide in clinical trials during the next 90 days. As the demand for Invivodata's unique electronic diary system continues to grow, the number of deployed devices could easily reach four times that amount by the end of 2005.
posted by Kent 7:42 AM | |

April 13, 2005

 
Tungsten E2 Announced

palmOne today announced the Tungsten E2 handheld, featuring a new, brighter 320x320 color display, 32MB of non-volatile flash memory (with 26MB actual storage capacity), a 200MHz Intel XScale processor, and an MMC/SD/SDIO expansion card slot. The device will retail for $250 and will be available on April 13.
posted by Kent 7:15 AM | |

April 12, 2005

 
Harrison's Manual of Medicine

Unbound Medicine has updated Harrison's Manual of Medicine, with a unique pricing structure. For one price, you receive PDA, Web and Wireless access using a PDA or a Web-enabled Smartphone or Blackberry.
posted by Kent 6:59 PM | |

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 | |

April 8, 2005

 
New Domain Name!

You can now access the Ectopic Brain using a new domain name:

http://medicalpda.net

If you have a Web page that references pbrain.hypermart.net, please change your link(s) to use the new domain name. The old name may stop working eventually. Thanks!
posted by Kent 9:04 PM | |

April 5, 2005

 
The Rumor Mill

I usually don't post rumors, but there are so many floating around right now that it's hard to ignore them.

palmOne typically announces its new models in the Spring, so many of us are holding off upgrading until we see if there's anything new coming out (like yours truly). Devices named Tungsten E2 and Zire 73 have been spotted on at least one hardware vendor's Web site. These may be evolutionary upgrades to the Tungsten E and Zire 72 models, as their names suggest.

Most interesting of all, an entirely new model called "Life Drive" has been discussed at length on PalmInfoCenter. This device sounds too good to be true...a 4GB hard drive? Built-in WiFi and Bluetooth? Looks like a brick, but if the price is right... The palmOne lineup has been pretty stagnant for a while, so I certainly hope some of these rumors turn out to be true.

Finally, it looks like Verizon Wireless is soon going to be offering the palmOne Treo 650. My local Verizon rep told me it may be available as early as next month. It's about time!
posted by Kent 6:59 PM | |

 
Just the Facts, Please

USBMIS is now Beta testing Just the Facts in Emergency Medicine by the American College of Emergency Physicians and McGraw-Hill Publishing.

Features include:

• Effectively condenses Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine for a concise, yet comprehensive review.
• Standardized, bulleted format stresses key points of epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical features, diagnosis and differential, and ED care and disposition.
• At-a-glance use of prioritized and numbered treatments, quick-reference tables, and key figures assure quick absorption of the material.
• Includes special sections that review the various written exams and provide text-taking tips and strategies.
• Provides state-of-the art information on antiplatelet agents, pain management, stroke management, new treatments for viral disorders, and more.

The Beta program is free. To join, click here. Beta testing will continue until April 10, 2005.
posted by Kent 6:51 PM | |

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