Technology PDA and Smartphones

[Pierrot le Fou]

I am about to begin my 3rd year and am considering a PDA such as the palm tx or ipaq or even a sprint smartphone such as the treo/blackberry/q. Does anyone have advice as to which option is best in terms of supporting the required software as well as any experience? Are there any significant differences/advantages between the PDA varieties as well as differences between the phone varieties? Also, which of these options is best in terms of searching through sites such as up-to-date or MDconsult on the go? Thanks for the help!

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[DickyV]

I'd check with the technology people at your school. Several med schools require a specific model (or give you a choice of a few models), while others will just have a spec sheet so that your PDA will be compatible with whatever systems are present at the school's teaching hospitals.

If there are no requirements whatsoever, at least the tech guys should be able to help you pick a good one.

 

[analgold09]

Don't get a blackberry. While I love my 8800, it does not support the more popular programs, like epocrates or pocket consult (though I read that epocrates is currently creating a version for blackberry). It does support a program called PEPID -- which actually appears quite complete -- but it is expensive, and I have had difficulty loading the trial version on my device.

Most of my classmates have a palm/treo. It looks like an obese graphing calculator compared to the newer blackberries, but they are capable of handling all the programs you need. Despite this, I'm quite content with the paper pharmacopoeia, sanford guide, and washington manual.

 

[Mardi-Bob]

I am about to begin my 3rd year and am considering a PDA such as the palm tx or ipaq or even a sprint smartphone such as the treo/blackberry/q. Does anyone have advice as to which option is best in terms of supporting the required software as well as any experience? Are there any significant differences/advantages between the PDA varieties as well as differences between the phone varieties? Also, which of these options is best in terms of searching through sites such as up-to-date or MDconsult on the go? Thanks for the help!

Quick before this gets moved!

I just bought a treo 755p through sprint. It uses the Palm OS.. that despite rumors being spread mostly by Microsoft is not dead. In fact some medical software only supports palm OS.
Stand-alone PDA's imo are dying b/c why have both a pda and phone when u can have both. Plus bluetooth technology is advancing at an incredible pace and now it wont drain your battery just to use it. Plus with new EVDO/3G networks smartphones get great internet connectivity.
The main reason I got a pda/phone is b/c I'm an entering MSI and when I hit MSIII I will be able to upgrade to the newer smartphone, while many of my classmates will be shelling out cash to buy one.
I personally would suggest getting a treo. Whether you use Palm based treo or a windows based treo depends on your wireless provider.

 

[danierrr]

If you've got a two-year plan ending soon, get a smartphone. They'll run your medical apps just fine, and won't cost you more than ~$50 more than renewing your cell phone contract.

I'm with Cingular, so I got a Samsung BlackJack (which runs Windows Mobile 5 or 6), and have been really impressed by it. I've got ePocrates and iSilo (for reading medical textbooks) on it; every major medical software is available for the Windows Mobile platform AND Palm OS platform, so you can't go wrong either way.

Blackberries suck though. Sorry, but that's honestly how I feel.

 

[Cirrus83]

Hmm..I have a Treo 755 but I'm considering switching to a regular phone and a Palm TX just because the Treos aren't exactly stellar in terms of stability.

 

[LaDoctorFutura]

I'm with Cingular, so I got a Samsung BlackJack (which runs Windows Mobile 5 or 6), and have been really impressed by it. I've got ePocrates and iSilo (for reading medical textbooks) on it; every major medical software is available for the Windows Mobile platform AND Palm OS platform, so you can't go wrong either way.

Blackberries suck though. Sorry, but that's honestly how I feel.

Interesting that you said this because i have a Blackjack as just my regular phone and have been told that the screen size is too small for some essential programs and the fact that it cannot open and edit office documents should sway me towards either a treo 750 or 8525 (both through the new at&t {cingular}). i'm about to enter my second year and since i will be hitting clinics in six months, i'm kinda wanting to go ahead and get used to it. the prices of both are killer, though.

 

[danierrr]

Interesting that you said this because i have a Blackjack as just my regular phone and have been told that the screen size is too small for some essential programs and the fact that it cannot open and edit office documents should sway me towards either a treo 750 or 8525 (both through the new at&t {cingular}). i'm about to enter my second year and since i will be hitting clinics in six months, i'm kinda wanting to go ahead and get used to it. the prices of both are killer, though.

The screen size is just fine. It's not an iPhone though, if that's what you're saying Essential to me are Opera, ePocrates, 5 Minute Clinical Consult, and iSilo, and all four work just fine on the Blackjack. Screen size is not an issue.

You *can* open and edit files in Office, but you're not allowed to make new files. The workaround is simple: make yourself a new .doc file on your PC, upload it to your phone, and then open the blank .doc file instead. Simple workaround

A BlackJack's all you'll need, in my opinion. The Treos are beautiful (the 750's screen is worse than the Blackjack, though, and has the same OS and therefore the same compatibility etc as the Blackjack) but I honestly doubt your Blackjack will let you down. You're right, the 8525 *is* the better phone, though.

 

[erin682]

I have a palmTX. I quite happy with it and it has supported all the programs I've wanted. If I had it to do over again I'd probably invest in a good smartphone though. I already carry around so much that one less thing bumping around in my pockets,or clipped to my scrubs, would be nice.

 

[notdeadyet]

Personally, I'd avoid smartphones. There are essentially two kinds: the PDA sized ones with comparable screen real estate and the traditional cellphone style.

The big PDA-size smart phones are nice, but they are a pain in the a$$ when you're going to the movies or whatnot. I tend to have my phone on me all the time, but don't bring my PDA everywhere. I like something I can slip into a front pocket elegantly.

The traditional cellphone style is handy for portability and they've improved a lot lately in recent years, but the screens don't compare, which can make running some of the apps (the apps they support at all) a bit challenging. I'm also not thrilled about the idea of whipping out something repeatedly in a clinical environment that I'm always putting up to my mouth and ears.

Also, I don't like giving up my stylus. For folks who grew up text-messaging before they learned to talk, it's probably not an issue, but I just find navigating and text inputing a lot easier with the stylus.

At the end of the day, technology that tries to serve multiple goals often accomplishes multiple goals poorly and expensively. The small smartphones I've used are often overpriced, work as a sort of chopped down PDA, and often don't get the reception they should.

 

[notdeadyet]

If you do go PDA, don't be scared to buy Palm. I personally prefer PocketPCs and wouldn't use a Palm for business, but for medicine, there's a crazy amount of Palm-only software. And it's a pretty stable OS.

 

[brewmeistervi]

What is the best medical software out there (for MS1-4) and what kind of electronic device does it work on?

 

[notdeadyet]

What is the best medical software out there (for MS1-4) and what kind of electronic device does it work on?

I did a pretty exhaustive hunt on that and found that basically there isn't anything of great value for MS1 or MS2. And I figure that by the time folks just becoming MS1's now actually become MS3's, the software or OS's could be quite different.

 

[danierrr]

I did a pretty exhaustive hunt on that and found that basically there isn't anything of great value for MS1 or MS2. And I figure that by the time folks just becoming MS1's now actually become MS3's, the software or OS's could be quite different.

Seconded. Unless you attend a medical school where you'll be on services in your first or second years, like Duke or Rochester. Who knows, with WiFi-based PDAs and more and more hospitals switching to EMR, it might be a totally different ballgame using PDAs in two years!

 

[njbmd]

Moving to Technology Forum for discussion there.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

The screen size is just fine. It's not an iPhone though, if that's what you're saying Essential to me are Opera, ePocrates, 5 Minute Clinical Consult, and iSilo, and all four work just fine on the Blackjack. Screen size is not an issue.

You *can* open and edit files in Office, but you're not allowed to make new files. The workaround is simple: make yourself a new .doc file on your PC, upload it to your phone, and then open the blank .doc file instead. Simple workaround

A BlackJack's all you'll need, in my opinion. The Treos are beautiful (the 750's screen is worse than the Blackjack, though, and has the same OS and therefore the same compatibility etc as the Blackjack) but I honestly doubt your Blackjack will let you down. You're right, the 8525 *is* the better phone, though.

Interesting. I wouldn't think the blackjack would be big enough for ePocrates, etc. I've been holding off on a Treo (and I think iPhones are at least a year or two off from VZ, if at all), so I was trying to find an alternative.

I might have to check this out!

-t

 

[Pontifex Maximus]

iPhone is on an exclusive contract with AT&T for 5 years. You won't see them anytime soon. My only problem with the smartphone field (Q, Black Jack, etc) is how slow it is to navigate programs like ePocrates which are designed for a stylus/touchscreen. It is definitely doable, but a little extra work.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

iPhone is on an exclusive contract with AT&T for 5 years. You won't see them anytime soon. My only problem with the smartphone field (Q, Black Jack, etc) is how slow it is to navigate programs like ePocrates which are designed for a stylus/touchscreen. It is definitely doable, but a little extra work.

5 years....OUCH! AT&T must have paid a ton to get that exclusivity.

-t

 

[pharmdch]

Lexi-Comp, Inc. (www.lexi.com) offers an extensive collection of clinical software for the Blackberry. Skyscape (www.skyscape.com) also offers lots of software for Blackberry. If you can afford a Blackberry data plan and the cost of software, they are a viable option now. They are much more stable than Palm OS and Windows Mobile devices, and you can't beat the e-mail and web browsing performance.

I have a Blackberry 8800, and Lexi-Drugs performs flawlessly. Granted, it's $75.00 for a one year subscription, but it's vastly superior to Epocrates Rx.

 

[DaveinDallas]

Stupid user question --

Ok, I too have a requirement for a PDA (either standalone or PDA/Phone integrated unit)....A few questions concerning capability and my wireless provider...

1) The wireless provider told me that to have 802.11b/g connectivity, I HAD to have their service at another $70/80 a month. So, I'm assuming this is
WiFi connectivity. However, I know of some people who don't use
their providers WiFi service and use the school's WiFi. Question - how
do they get connectivity if the Treo series doesn't provide 802.11b/g
interface capability but only EDGE/GPRS capability?

2) I like the standalone Palm units which do have 802.11b/g connectivity but really don't want to lug around two devices. Since I've trained myself to bring my phone by the simple expedient of not having a landline at home, I haven't lost a phone so far. I'm a little concerned about having all the
data on a PDA rather than toting around some small books and then having
that bad boy die on me. What's the reliability scale for Palm OS - better than Microsoft is just fine (down with the evil empire, Red Hat rules!!! --sorry, I know a computer dweeb or two).

3) Availability of medically pertinent s/w for Palm O/S vs. Microsoft - which
has more and what's the development stream look like?

4) Cost - I'm new to this and have seen Palm T|X's for around $260 new
but refurbished T5's for around $150. The school is only allocating $100
for a PDA - I can get a Treo 650 for that but we get back to WiFi requirements....

Any help would be appreciated. I'm not a technonerd and have always hated gadgets and daytimers. I seem to spend more time learning how to use the things and inputing data that I could use for STUDYING and I tend to have a good memory for appointments and schedules anyway....

 

[LaDoctorFutura]

Is having wireless really necessary in hospital setting or is it just really convenient? I just purchased a Treo 680 (Palm OS) for 80 bucks and figured that was a great deal for a PDA/phone. While it wasn't first on my list, it will work well because I also use a Mac and Palms sync well with Macs.

Has anyone else had experience with a Palm OS PDA/Phone?