Patient Tracker vs. Patient Keeper

[footprints]

Does anyone have opinions regarding Patient Tracker or Patient Keeper? Which is a better program to have?

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[md03]

neither.

Keeping pt information on a PDA is very inefficient. It's faster to write things on a piece of paper. Many places now have some kind of computer system which prints off a pt list which includes labs and meds. Folks usually track their to do lists on such lists. If you don't have a computer system, then some system like index cards or a piece of paper works better.

Not to mention that keeping pt info on PDA might violate HIPPA regs. l

 

[GO_MEDPEDS]

Well, you can make your PDA HIPPA compliant by password-protecting it...

As for patient tracking programs, I have found that WardWatch is a fairly effective patient monitoring program. I have tried several of them (PatientKeeper, PatientTracker, Raphael, WardWatch, PedsOmnibus, etc.) and I do agree that they are all very inefficient. Although it is very nice to have the information readily accessible and searchable, it's just very slow to graffiti in the patient's data, no matter what system you use. For patient notes, the only thing I have found useful is the notepad/to do list... just quickly jot down labs, studies, etc. and other to do's ratehr than scratch them on a piece of paper that may get lost... also very useful during call (set some alarms to alert you/awaken you as needed).

Here are the websites for various Patient Monitoring programs:

www.patientkeeper.com/ (Patient Keeper)

www.handheldmed.com/ (Patient Tracker)

www.torlesse.com/ (Ward Watch)

www.pdamed.com/ (Raphael)

www.freewarepalm.com/medical/pedsomnibus.shtml (Peds Omnibus)

 

[Jaded Soul]

Originally posted by md03
neither.

Keeping pt information on a PDA is very inefficient. It's faster to write things on a piece of paper. Many places now have some kind of computer system which prints off a pt list which includes labs and meds. Folks usually track their to do lists on such lists. If you don't have a computer system, then some system like index cards or a piece of paper works better.

Not to mention that keeping pt info on PDA might violate HIPPA regs. l

Admittedly, I don't know how patient tracking systems work since I don't start clerkships for another week, but how is tracking info on index cards any different from keeping information on a PDA in terms of the HIPAA Privacy Rule? In other words, why would you have to go to the extra measure of putting a password on your PDA if you could keep all the same info on index cards that obviously can't be password protected?

(Sorry...I just had to do an online assessment of the Privacy Rule and it wasn't the clearest thing written. I'm all HIPAA'ed out and more confused than ever.)

 

[md03]

I confess that I don't see the difference between paper and palm for HIPPA. For that point, I was merely regurgitating what had been said at my recent intern orientation. There is mandatory HIPPA training, and were were told we should be very wary of keeping pt info on a PDA.

When I started my clerkships, I downloaded a free program (pt keeper, maybe?) It took me about 2 days to give up trying to use it...it's just too slow to graffiti everything in. I found I prefer keeping a single piece of paper (or two, depending on the size of the service), divided up into 8ths and I just quickly write vitals and labs for each pt. I usually do this simultaneous with writing notes. Then I can also keep my to do list in the space for the pt. You will find that most of us learn to write small.

If you feel compelled to try to use a PDA tracker, I'd try a free one first. That way you can tell if that type of system will work for you and you can buy one whose features you like better. Just let me that throughout med school, I never saw a student or a resident use a patient tracker. Only one service used PDA pt log at all, and that was simply in the memo function...the ortho folks kept track of injuries and issues, but not labs on that.

 

[Gauss]

Originally posted by md03

When I started my clerkships, I downloaded a free program (pt keeper, maybe?) It took me about 2 days to give up trying to use it...it's just too slow to graffiti everything in. I found I prefer keeping a single piece of paper (or two, depending on the size of the service), divided up into 8ths and I just quickly write vitals and labs for each pt. I usually do this simultaneous with writing notes. Then I can also keep my to do list in the space for the pt. You will find that most of us learn to write small.

Same feelings here - takes too long to type all that in
When you have your palm crash on you and you lose all that data you'll flip out. I tried re-synching my palm and not everything came back. I dumped that pt tracker right then and went back to my small spiral bound notebook.
If I'm lucky I can use the computers to print out labs and stuff and then write my notes on them - but important stuff goes into the notebook.

 

[footprints]

Thank you for the feedback! I'm actually a beginning 3rd year med student. Our medschool has decided to become paperless (or at least attempt to move in that direction) & pretty much wireless. We're required to have LockMe which locks our PDA (to comply with HIPPA). We also have to submit patient logs for every rotation.

I just thought that it was pretty cool to be able to track patients' labs & graph the trends rather than eyeballing through a list of labs....but you all have much more experience than I...so I think I'll start out with the index card system & go from there...

 

[md03]

If that system has a way to magically transfer your pt's data from the computer into your PDA (without you graffiting it in), then the PDA might acutally be better. That is the only way I think a PDA would be better than paper or note cards, though.