Has anyone had success using palm PCs to manage their patients during clinical rotations. IE: H&Ps, progress notes, DDx etc... Do your attendings use them? What do you/they use?
palm PCs
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SDN-Jim
An update: New software just came out!
Visit this link for an easier to read version:
http://www.studentdoctor.net/guide/technodoc/introduction.html
Revised 6-9-2000
I had almost given up... almost.
Patient tracking programs have been a point of frustration for me the past few years.
My first experience as a medical student was shelling out several hundred dollars for a patient tracking program designed for my second generation handheld Windows CE device. It seemed to work ok at first, but was awkward. I thought I would adjust but the thing was killing my efficiency. To top it off as I added more patients the system became unstable. One day, while rounding, my handheld crashed. Since the software did not allow storage on a Compact Flash memory card, all of my patient data was lost forever.
Over the last 2 years I have tried a variety of tracking programs for the PalmOS and WindowsCE platforms.
The PalmOS platform programs are good, with the top of the line in the PalmOS being Patient Keeper. (However, Palm devices do not have external memory cards to backup patient data, except for the Visor Springboard modules which are proprietary and costly compared to the industry standard Sandisk (NAS: SNDK) Compact Flash cards.)
Windows CE platform programs, on the other hand, have been, in my opinion, a disaster. Plagued by version and hardware incompatibility and instability, they have been awkward and impractical.
The other day I received a notice from Michael Cassat, a software developer at Handheldmed.com, announcing the release of Patient Tracker 4.1.
Handheldmed and Michael Cassat have excellent reputations for the quality of their products and website. However, as I downloaded the software to my Windows CE based Compaq Aero I was skeptical. I waited for incompatibility messages like "This program is not compatible with SH4 blah blah blah." Or, "Select your chipset from this cryptic computer geek list of terms. No matter which chipset you choose something will not work right." However, when the installation was complete, nothing bad happened. It installed without a hitch.
Ah, Patient Tracker installed but will it run...
It does! It works wonderfully! I've added tons of patients, both inpatient and out, and the program does not burden my resources, improves my efficiency, and is as stable as a rock. The interface is intuitive. I can print and export files in a breeze. I can even generate check-out lists!
Patient Tracker 4.1 is a revolution in Windows CE patient tracking capabilities. Patient Keeper is still the PalmOS platform standard.
It is available for free download now at http://www.handheldmed.com. The thousands of readers of the Student Doctor Network will benefit greatly from this software. Congratulations Michael Cassat and Handheldmed! You got this one right!
Thank you.
Jim Henderson, MD
SDN Communications, Inc.
The Student Doctor Network http://www.studentdoctor.net
[This message has been edited by SDN-Jim (edited 06-09-2000).]
Visit this link for an easier to read version:
http://www.studentdoctor.net/guide/technodoc/introduction.html
Revised 6-9-2000
I had almost given up... almost.
Patient tracking programs have been a point of frustration for me the past few years.
My first experience as a medical student was shelling out several hundred dollars for a patient tracking program designed for my second generation handheld Windows CE device. It seemed to work ok at first, but was awkward. I thought I would adjust but the thing was killing my efficiency. To top it off as I added more patients the system became unstable. One day, while rounding, my handheld crashed. Since the software did not allow storage on a Compact Flash memory card, all of my patient data was lost forever.
Over the last 2 years I have tried a variety of tracking programs for the PalmOS and WindowsCE platforms.
The PalmOS platform programs are good, with the top of the line in the PalmOS being Patient Keeper. (However, Palm devices do not have external memory cards to backup patient data, except for the Visor Springboard modules which are proprietary and costly compared to the industry standard Sandisk (NAS: SNDK) Compact Flash cards.)
Windows CE platform programs, on the other hand, have been, in my opinion, a disaster. Plagued by version and hardware incompatibility and instability, they have been awkward and impractical.
The other day I received a notice from Michael Cassat, a software developer at Handheldmed.com, announcing the release of Patient Tracker 4.1.
Handheldmed and Michael Cassat have excellent reputations for the quality of their products and website. However, as I downloaded the software to my Windows CE based Compaq Aero I was skeptical. I waited for incompatibility messages like "This program is not compatible with SH4 blah blah blah." Or, "Select your chipset from this cryptic computer geek list of terms. No matter which chipset you choose something will not work right." However, when the installation was complete, nothing bad happened. It installed without a hitch.
Ah, Patient Tracker installed but will it run...
It does! It works wonderfully! I've added tons of patients, both inpatient and out, and the program does not burden my resources, improves my efficiency, and is as stable as a rock. The interface is intuitive. I can print and export files in a breeze. I can even generate check-out lists!
Patient Tracker 4.1 is a revolution in Windows CE patient tracking capabilities. Patient Keeper is still the PalmOS platform standard.
It is available for free download now at http://www.handheldmed.com. The thousands of readers of the Student Doctor Network will benefit greatly from this software. Congratulations Michael Cassat and Handheldmed! You got this one right!
Thank you.
Jim Henderson, MD
SDN Communications, Inc.
The Student Doctor Network http://www.studentdoctor.net
[This message has been edited by SDN-Jim (edited 06-09-2000).]
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It's not a paid advertisement. Jim really likes the program and wanted to give other people that use H/PCs a heads-up.
Personally, I prefer using the Palm OS based PatientKeeper, which can be downloaded from: http://www.patientkeeper.com
Personally, I prefer using the Palm OS based PatientKeeper, which can be downloaded from: http://www.patientkeeper.com
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I will be starting medical school in the fall. Is it worth it to get a hand held device now and become familiar with it or should I wait until my 3rd year when the prices have dropped and the quality has increased?
S
SDN-Jim
AJ
I would wait until your 3rd year unless you want one simply for organization.
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Jim Henderson, MD at http://www.studentdoctor.net
I would wait until your 3rd year unless you want one simply for organization.
------------------
Jim Henderson, MD at http://www.studentdoctor.net
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dthankins-
Here are my favorite free programs:
epocrates qRx: http://www.epocrates.com
MedMath: http://mail.med.upenn.edu/~pcheng/medmath/
AvantGo: http://www.avantgo.com
For paid programs, check out:
5 Min Clinical Consult: http://www.skyscape.com/k2new/
Harrison's Principles of Int. Med (Pocket Ed): http://www.handmedical.com
For more good resources, see: http://www.healthypalmpilot.com
[This message has been edited by Lee A Burnett (edited 06-09-2000).]
Here are my favorite free programs:
epocrates qRx: http://www.epocrates.com
MedMath: http://mail.med.upenn.edu/~pcheng/medmath/
AvantGo: http://www.avantgo.com
For paid programs, check out:
5 Min Clinical Consult: http://www.skyscape.com/k2new/
Harrison's Principles of Int. Med (Pocket Ed): http://www.handmedical.com
For more good resources, see: http://www.healthypalmpilot.com
[This message has been edited by Lee A Burnett (edited 06-09-2000).]
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www.pdamd.com is the best site for software/reviews of palm OS related medical stuff.
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Anyone know it there is any software out there that would allow docs to write Rx's on the PDA? You know with all the bad doc handwriting and all!
Anyway, I haven't seen any so I am working on writing one myself.
Let me know if anyone has seen something like this or if you have any ideas on making one.
Thanks!
Anyway, I haven't seen any so I am working on writing one myself.
Let me know if anyone has seen something like this or if you have any ideas on making one.
Thanks!
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