iPhone and EM

[Jeff698]

OK, I'm about to explode. I've managed to exercise some self-control and have avoided buying an iPhone so far because I can't get medical apps on it.

I was very excited about the release of ePocrates through the App store, only to find that it was the free Rx version.

I've become so used to PEPID on my Treo that I think I'd still have to carry it around until PEPID is released on the iPhone.

What are my fellow geeks doing? If y'all bit on the iPhone, are you using any medical apps on it?

I did download ePocrates Rx onto my wife's old iPhone and found it a bit cumbersome compared with PEPID. On the bright side (and completely unrelated to medicine), I also loaded Pandora on it and fell in love. That's the coolest thing ever.

Take care,
Jeff

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[southerndoc]

PEPID will be released for the iPhone in a few months (per an email reply).

ePocrates for iPhone is currently the free version, but I have a feeling ePocrates Essentials will be available soon enough.

 

[roja]

I'm buying an iphone in the next two or three weeks.

 

[bartleby]

Epocrates on the iphone is great. The pill identifier has already come in handy for the "EMS says the patient identified on these pills" [nurse holds up baggie] patient. I look forward to pepid natively on the iphone, but am reasonably satisfied with pepid wireless (mobile.pepid.com).

 

[pinipig523]

Are there any other EM programs for the iPhone? How about 5MCC or Harrisons?

 

[jendc08]

I haven't tried any of these yet...but love the iphone so far!

http://www.skyscape.com/estore/store.aspx?category=4

 

[newschooldoc]

PC convert. Motivation was too many electrical devices, and way too much time spent trying to keep my calendar up to date.

It's good, not great. Sure would be nice to have things like calendar subscriptions on mobile me, direct access to iDisk from the iPhone etc.

Overall there are a few quirks that really prevent it from being the end-all I thought it was going to be. Let's see how they do in the next few months with apps. Sanford's anyone?

~

 

[newschooldoc]

I couldn't get any skyscape apps to work with the iPhone specifically. I just need an ABX guide for the love of god.

 

[cdcello]

I've been just using the ipod touch, which is basically the iphone without the phone and it works great if your hospital has wifi. Longer battery life that way as well. Would like to get the full epocrates on it though....

 

[newschooldoc]

per their representative...


Me: I am having trouble downloading the trial version of; 1)Life support 360 and 2)The Johns Hopkins POC-IT ABX Guide. Both "trial" downloads do not include an iPhone option. The purchase version does, please advise.
Vikrant: trial version of our software are not for iPhone device. However you can view the insight feature of the product to view the content of the product.
Vikrant: I would also like to inform you that . Please note that programs on the iPhone/iPod are accessed over a WIFI connection and are NOT installed on the device..
Me: Is it an option to get an installed?
Vikrant: Our engineering department are working on the product to get installed however it will take some time.
Vikrant: Please click on the link below and enter your email ID So that we will notify you when we would release the install version of the product for iPhone device.
Vikrant: Iphone (click here)

 

[Jeff698]

It's good, not great. Sure would be nice to have things like calendar subscriptions on mobile me, direct access to iDisk from the iPhone etc.

Overall there are a few quirks that really prevent it from being the end-all I thought it was going to be. Let's see how they do in the next few months with apps. Sanford's anyone?

Lack of subscription calendars on MobileMe are a big disappointment. I can't imagine that it won't be fixed shortly. Everything else with MM is working well for me though. I had all of my email, contacts, bookmarks and calendars (not including my wife's subscribed calendar, sadly) loaded on my iPhone within about 5 minutes of walking out of the Apple store. I just told it my MobileMe username/password (I'm an old .Mac user) and it synched.

As for medical apps, I'm holding out for PEPID. I downloaded the free version of ePocrates from the App Store. It's OK for a drug reference and interaction checker. The pill picture thing is pretty cool but I don't use it as much as I thought I would.

I also just downloaded OBWheel and Eponyms this morning. The gestational age calculator in PEPID is one I use almost every shift and was really missing. This should work for that. The Eponyms app is a very comprehensive database of eponyms.

I just renewed my subscription to PEPID for my Palm after confirming with them that, once it is available for the iPhone, my subscription will transfer over for free.

I'll keep an eye out for other useful medical apps and post here when I find them. Y'all do the same.

Take care,
Jeff

 

[jendc08]

Thanks for suggesting the obwheel and eponyms! I just downloaded those...what is so great about mobile me?

 

[bartleby]

While it is merely a stopgap measure until they come out with a native iPhone application, pepid seems to have retooled their wireless interface (mobile.pepid.com) especially for the iPhone. It works quite well, but my preference is still to have a local application running on the device that does not depend on wireless access.

 

[napster]

Lack of subscription calendars on MobileMe are a big disappointment. I can't imagine that it won't be fixed shortly. Everything else with MM is working well for me though. I had all of my email, contacts, bookmarks and calendars (not including my wife's subscribed calendar, sadly) loaded on my iPhone within about 5 minutes of walking out of the Apple store. I just told it my MobileMe username/password (I'm an old .Mac user) and it synched.

As for medical apps, I'm holding out for PEPID. I downloaded the free version of ePocrates from the App Store. It's OK for a drug reference and interaction checker. The pill picture thing is pretty cool but I don't use it as much as I thought I would.

I also just downloaded OBWheel and Eponyms this morning. The gestational age calculator in PEPID is one I use almost every shift and was really missing. This should work for that. The Eponyms app is a very comprehensive database of eponyms.

I just renewed my subscription to PEPID for my Palm after confirming with them that, once it is available for the iPhone, my subscription will transfer over for free.

I'll keep an eye out for other useful medical apps and post here when I find them. Y'all do the same.

Take care,
Jeff

FYI, I once bought PEPID for windows CE then tried to download a copy for my then brand new Treo 700p but customer service said I had to buy a separate copy.

 

[Jeff698]

FYI, I once bought PEPID for windows CE then tried to download a copy for my then brand new Treo 700p but customer service said I had to buy a separate copy.

Strange. I still have the email. I also made the same switch you did from my old, old HP windows CE to my old Treo palm. I just downloaded the new version and they sent me a new code. I had to install from the same computer but it worked and was free (well, not so much free but without additional expense).

Take care,
Jeff

 

[trister1]

I think the free epocrates on the iPhone is plenty

 

[Jeff698]

For those of you who want more on your iPhone, take a look at Mediquations on the App Store. It has some nice calculator features and seems to work well.

Plus, it's written by a third year student from my alma mater, UTMB.

Take care,
Jeff

 

[Old_Mil]

Those of you with multiple apps installed: does your iPhone slow down significantly? I have a Windows Mobile phone, and I can put any two major apps of my choice on there before it reaches the limits of its usability in terms of memory and response time.

 

[zinjanthropus]

Those of you with multiple apps installed: does your iPhone slow down significantly? I have a Windows Mobile phone, and I can put any two major apps of my choice on there before it reaches the limits of its usability in terms of memory and response time.

no - the hard drive on the iphone is very large (8gb or 16gb). The small hd on the smart phones have a lot to do with the sluggish app run times

 

[anxiousnadd]

Random...but...has anyone found a decent cover for your iPhone that will let it buckle to your scrubs without it falling? If so, please point me in the right direction. Even the folks at the Apple store told me not to get the ones they had!

The simplest things are the hardest to find.

 

[pseudoknot]

Random...but...has anyone found a decent cover for your iPhone that will let it buckle to your scrubs without it falling? If so, please point me in the right direction. Even the folks at the Apple store told me not to get the ones they had!

The simplest things are the hardest to find.

It's not a cover, but I'd recommend the pouch cases from Nutshell, which are a little pricey but incredibly well made. Your scrubs might fall off but their belt clip will not.

 

[notdeadyet]

I've seen folks in the ED in the past pulling out PDAs and using gloved hands with them. That's always made me a bit nervous when the smartphones came out.

I'm assuming wth something like the iPhone the protocol is that you don't use it unless you're gloveless?

 

[Jeff698]

I haven't seen a slowdown even with multiple apps loaded. I am a former Windows CE user and know what you mean.

Part of the reason for this is by design. Apple prohibited, at the OS level, running applications in the background. This is good and bad.

It's good because, as you see in the Windows world, third party applications frequently don't share memory resources well and slow everything down. Prevent the background memory allocation and you prevent the slow down, as well as the potential for many crashes.

It's bad because it limits some functionality. Right now, the iPod and phone services (i.e. SMS and calls) are the only thing that runs in the background. If you have ePocrates running and you switch to look at your calendar, ePocrates shuts down and clears itself out of memory. When you switch back to it, it starts from scratch.

As for cases, this is what I use. It doesn't pull my scrubs down. It's the case from incase. I bought it from the Apple store.

Take care,
Jeff