I have had my fair share of PDAs use over the years. I started with a Handspring then to a Toshiba e335 and finally an Axim v50 (great PDA when it does not lock up). I am currently an intern working at a hospital. When I was in medical school during my second year I saw a few of first year students come into class with PDAs. I asked them why they bought their PDA prior to school. They told me that when they interviewed for admission they went to church during their stay and saw all the medical students with their PDAs reading scriptures, etc.. They figured that everyone at school had a PDA and used them extensively throughout the week. What they failed to realize was that was the only time most of us used our PDA during the week was at church. Our schedule was so regimented and predictable that there was no need for an organizer. Also most of the textbooks and references for the first two years are easier to read from the actual book or a notebook computer. They all thought that everyone used PDAs but they did not.
When I got into my clinical rotations my school promised a PDA based log book system when we started. The system went live finally after I graduated. The system is so cumbersome and difficult to use that no one uses it. Everyone thought that point of care data entry would be easy and more convenient but that turned out not to be the case. I have since learned that large amounts of data input is better done on a computer, not a PDA.
The reference material I use on my PDA works pretty good. The differential diagnosis, 5 minute clinical consult, and other material have really helped me out. But my problem is that I still have to carry my pocketbook material with me for back up. Also my pocket material allow me to search different information faster. For example if I look up an ace inhibitor (a blood pressure medication) I can look up every drug in the class very quickly with my book but on my PDA that is difficult. The problem with the PDA is that the information is so variable in it presentation on different programs. I have to use two different clinical consult programs to get the information I need on certain diseases. Of course that is a programming issue but good, solid PDA programs are difficult to find (in my opinion). I frequently search out a web based computers to look information up.
I still have faith in the PDAs. They have saved me (or my patients) from major screw ups. The amount of information available is too much to remember for one person. Healthcare providers will have to be able to integrate health information into the point of care system. It would be so nice to be able to look up a drug and cross reference it with the patient's drug plan. My current program does that but none of the drug plan for my patients are in the system currently. Stuff like that is possible but is not done because a multitude of issue not related to the actual technology to do so. After all the prescription insurance plans do not want you to easily pick out medications for our patients. The more difficult it is the more they hope you just give up or just guess. BTW the Plan D is a mini disaster, very poorly executed.
Slashdot Mirror
I have had my fair share of PDAs use over the years. I started with a Handspring then to a Toshiba e335 and finally an Axim v50 (great PDA when it does not lock up). I am currently an intern working at a hospital. When I was in medical school during my second year I saw a few of first year students come into class with PDAs. I asked them why they bought their PDA prior to school. They told me that when they interviewed for admission they went to church during their stay and saw all the medical students with their PDAs reading scriptures, etc.. They figured that everyone at school had a PDA and used them extensively throughout the week. What they failed to realize was that was the only time most of us used our PDA during the week was at church. Our schedule was so regimented and predictable that there was no need for an organizer. Also most of the textbooks and references for the first two years are easier to read from the actual book or a notebook computer. They all thought that everyone used PDAs but they did not.
When I got into my clinical rotations my school promised a PDA based log book system when we started. The system went live finally after I graduated. The system is so cumbersome and difficult to use that no one uses it. Everyone thought that point of care data entry would be easy and more convenient but that turned out not to be the case. I have since learned that large amounts of data input is better done on a computer, not a PDA.
The reference material I use on my PDA works pretty good. The differential diagnosis, 5 minute clinical consult, and other material have really helped me out. But my problem is that I still have to carry my pocketbook material with me for back up. Also my pocket material allow me to search different information faster. For example if I look up an ace inhibitor (a blood pressure medication) I can look up every drug in the class very quickly with my book but on my PDA that is difficult. The problem with the PDA is that the information is so variable in it presentation on different programs. I have to use two different clinical consult programs to get the information I need on certain diseases. Of course that is a programming issue but good, solid PDA programs are difficult to find (in my opinion). I frequently search out a web based computers to look information up.
I still have faith in the PDAs. They have saved me (or my patients) from major screw ups. The amount of information available is too much to remember for one person. Healthcare providers will have to be able to integrate health information into the point of care system. It would be so nice to be able to look up a drug and cross reference it with the patient's drug plan. My current program does that but none of the drug plan for my patients are in the system currently. Stuff like that is possible but is not done because a multitude of issue not related to the actual technology to do so. After all the prescription insurance plans do not want you to easily pick out medications for our patients. The more difficult it is the more they hope you just give up or just guess. BTW the Plan D is a mini disaster, very poorly executed.
Just my two cents