What’s a PDA…And Why Should I Use One?
What’s A PDA?
And Why Should I Use One?
Or…
PDAs For Healthcare
Professionals: The Basics
Debbie Skolnik, M.L.S., Librarian
MAHEC, Asheville, NC 28801
The “What”?
What’s a PDA?
A PDA is a small mobile computer
about the size of the palm of the hand,
which may also be known as a:
Personal digital
Palm Pilot
assistant
Pocket PC
Handheld PC
Windows
Mobile PC
Palmtop Smartphone
What kind should I get?
Decision points:
Palm operating system vs Windows Mobile
operating system
PDA vs Smartphone
Palm operating system
More applications
available (though
Pocket PC is catching
up)
Palms are less
expensive
Palms run only one
application at a time
(in general)
Windows Mobile operating
system
Can multitask
PLUS: More
Windows-compatible
applications - may be
better for
administrative uses of
PDA
MINUS: Vulnerable
to Windows viruses
Handheld vs. Smartphone
What’s the difference?
Examples of some current PDAS
Basic PDA functions
Calendar (with
alarms)
Address book
To-do (task) list
Calculator
Memo pad
Bluetooth (share info
between PDAs)
Expanded PDA functions
Voice recorder
Camera
Media player
GPS (Global
Positioning System)
Internet access
(wireless, data plan)
$$ Costs $$
Basic Palm PDAs start at $99; wireless
capability around $299
Basic Pocket PCs start at $299
Smartphones – varies with phone
provider, features – usually start around
$300
Lots of pros…what are the
cons?
HIPAA compliance Limited battery power
(privacy issues) Organizational
Possible loss of data barriers (costs,
(loss, theft) technophobia
Small screens culture)
Input problems (keys, Malfunction
Graffiti) Need to sync to
Possible source of update data
infection
Who uses PDAs?
Physicians/ Physician assistants
Nurses
Pharmacists
Medical students/residents
Dentists
Home healthcare workers
Emergency/public health workers (all types)
Patients
Physicians’ use of PDAS
> 50%
Physicians’ use of PDAs
More than half of US physicians use
PDAs/handhelds during the course of the
work week (but more for admin than
clinical reasons)…Forrester Research 2005
More younger MDs use them than older
More generalists than specialists
More hospital-based than office based
More rural than urban users
What clinical applications are
used most?
Drug information (93%)
Patient records (43%)
Medical calculators (43%)
Lab values (36%)
Garrity, C;El Emam K; Who’s using PDAs? Estimates of PDA use
by health care providers: a systematic review of surveys.
Journal of Medical Internet Research. Vol. 8, No. 2, 2006.
e7.
What administrative functions
are most used?
Billing and coding
Calendar scheduling
Web/email access
Address book access
Garrity, C;El Emam K; Who’s using PDAs? Estimates of
PDA use by health care providers: a systematic review of
surveys. Journal of Medical Internet Research. Vol. 8,
No. 2, 2006. e7.
Favorite medical applications
Epocrates (free version available)
Inforetriever (EBM) $
Dynamed (EBM) $
5 Minute Clinical Consult $
Geriatrics at Your Fingertips (free)
Merck MobileMedicus (free)
MedRules and MedCalc (Free)
Nurses’ Uses of PDAs
Drug/infusion information, especially the “5 R’s” *
Right Medication
Right Dose
Right Patient
Right Time
Right Route
Nursing assessment information
Procedure information
GPS for home visits
Practice guidelines
Nursing school
http://www.pdacortex.com/RNs_are_Mobilizing.htm
Selected PDA applications for
nurses
Davis’s Drug Guide for Nurses)
RNotes®: Nurse's Clinical Pocket Guide, 2nd Ed.
Nurse's Manual of Laboratory and Diagnostic
Tests, 4th Ed.
Management Guidelines for Nurse Practitioners
Working in Family Practice, 1st Ed.
Handbook of Nursing Diagnosis, 10th Ed.
Mosby's Nursing PDQ
Health Assessment Through the Life Span, 4th
Edition
Pharmacists’ use of PDAs
Formulary reference
Determine dosing requirements
Check for drug interactions
Practice guidelines
Clinical references
Medical students’/Residents’
use of PDAs
Portfolio of clinical procedures
Electronic flash cards
Medical textbooks
EBM databases
Drug information
Dentists’ use of PDAs
Similar to that of physicians
Specialized applications available
Home healthcare workers’ use
of PDAs
Drug information
Clinical information
Document patient care
Patient information
Patient education
Share info with other healthcare workers
Emergency/public health workers
Triage
Mass disasters
Public health emergencies (SARS, Avian
flu, Katrina)
Patients’ use of PDAs
Patient education
Self-monitoring (food diary, symptom log,
medication compliance, blood pressure)
Surveys
Medical education
Pre-loaded lecture materials*
Polling tool in classroom*
Teaching evaluations*
Documentation of clinical and procedural
performance*
Collection of research data*
Broadcast of live surgery+
*Kho A. et al. Use of handheld computers in medical education: a
systematic review. J Gen Int Med. 21:531-537, 2006.
+Baumgart, DC. Personal digital assistants in health care:
experienced clinicians in the palm of your hand? Lancet. 366:1210-
1222, 2005.
Continuing medical education
(CME)
Journal articles
Podcasts (audio files)
Vodcasts (audio and video files)
POCL (Point of care learning)
The “Why”?
Patient safety
Point of care use of drug info – fewer
unsafe treatment choices*
Electronic prescription writing
Electronic medical record (EMR)
*Improving Ambulatory Prescribing Safety with a Handheld
Decision Support System: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J
Am Med Informatics Assn Mar/Apr 2006
PDAs do a lot, but can’t do
everything…