Android users rejoice. If you are an UpToDate subscriber, you now can download the new UpToDate Android app.

Description
Find clinical answers at the point of care or anywhere you need them! Now you can access current, synthesized clinical information from UpToDate® — including evidence-based recommendations — quickly and easily on your AndroidTM phone or tablet. This app is free to download. However, an individual subscription is required to log in and use it.
Features of UpToDate include:
• Persistent login
• Easy Search with Auto-complete
• Bookmarks and History
• Mobile-optimized Calculators
• Ability to earn CME/CE/CPD credit

This is the first public release of the Android app for UpToDate. Like the first UpToDate iOS mobile app, you need to login and you need an Internet connection. It is more convenient to have a native app rather than access UpToDate from the browser and you get more options than just the browser version. I suppose eventually UpToDate will release an “UpToDate Complete” for Android much like the iOS UpToDate Complete.
Update: It seems that this first release, although a free app, is available only to those who have access to the Google Play store in North America.

UpToDate is a great reference source for pharmacists; actually all healthcare professionals. It was my favorite reference when I was still a real pharmacist. My browser always had a tab open to UpToDate.

Based on The Palmdoc Chronicles article I went in search of the Android version of UpToDate. Not easy to find at the UpToDate site. Fortunately it only took me a second to find it on Google Play.

Note: UpToDate requires a subscription to get to all the information.

The biggest change with the Evernote update is the user interface. The home page is easy to use and intuitive. In addition it lets you swipe out a hidden menu just off the screen to the right to get to your notes. The navigation is more “swipe friendly” and I like it. It’s really quite slick.

From Google Play: Tarascon Prescriber’s Essentials

The Prescriber’s Essentials Android App is a combination of the award-winning Tarascon Pharmacopoeia and the Johns Hopkins POC-IT Center ABX Guide, now available for your Android device.

This must-have resource contains vital information on thousands of drugs and antimicrobials to help clinicians make better decisions at the point-of-care.

Prescriber’s Essentials Features Include:

• Convenient and quick portable access on your Android device
• Continuous drug updates for 12 months
• A fully integrated tool for multiple drug interaction checking
• 47 invaluable drug reference tables and 15 dynamic calculators
• Extensive pediatric drug dosing
• Anti-microbial agents
• Infectious diseases
• Commonly-encountered pathogens

Case in point is an email I received this morning letting me know that the Medscape app is available for the Kindle Fire from the Amazon Appstore. I have the Medscape app for Android on my Nexus. I use it on occasion and consider it a secondary reference, but hey it’s free and it has some good information in it.

From the Amazon Appstore website:

Product Features
Access Medscape’s extensive database of medical information (the largest available)
Gain information about more than 8,000 drugs, 4,000 diseases and conditions, thousands of clinical images and procedure videos, drug interaction checker tools, daily medical news, and more
Access the clinical reference database and drug interaction checker anywhere without an Internet connection (Requires full installation of clinical reference database on device)
Receive daily medical news and critical alerts in 34 specialty areas
Check medications for drug interactions and complications, up to 30 at a time
Product Description
Medscape from WebMD (medscape.com) is the leading medical resource most used by physicians, medical students, nurses, and other healthcare professionals for clinical information. this mobile app is used by over one million healthcare professionals.

Save medical news articles and read offline. No Internet connection is required. Access prescribing and safety information for more than 8,000 brand and generic drugs, OTC drugs, and herbals and supplements. This includes pill images, drug pricing, pregnancy and lactation guidelines, and more. Save commonly searched drugs to a personalized saved list for easy access.

Diseases, Conditions & Procedures:
- More than 4,000 evidence-based articles authored by leading physician experts (with images and videos)
- Over 600 step-by-step procedure videos, plus more than 100 tables and protocols
- Includes pathophysiology, epidemiology, differential diagnoses, workup, treatment, medication options, and more

Continuing Medical Education:
- Vast selection of CME/CE activities in 32 specialty areas
- Save and e-mail activities, track credits earned, and more

Clinical Reference Updates – January 2012 Summary for Medscape App for Android™

• 487 diseases & conditions updated
• 114 drug monographs updated
• 4 new drug monographs added

Featured Content of the Month – Heart Failure

This month we bring you an expanded collection of over 30 Heart Failure topics that have been updated with the most recent developments from medical literature and guideline recommendations from the American Heart Association, the New York Heart Association, and the European Society of Cardiology.

Comprehensive coverage on Heart Failure, including:

Heart Failure – includes the latest guidelines from the ACCF/AHA, NYHA, and ESC, as well as a greatly expanded multimedia library of clinical images and videos

Echocardiography – discusses the technical aspects of 2-D and Doppler echocardiography and provides an overview of equipment and patient preparation

Transvenous Cardiac Pacing - provides details on obtaining venous access, a technique for placement of the pacing lead, and complications that may occur

Permanent Pacemaker Insertion – offers information on devices and equipment, details on the implantation technique, and a discussion of technical considerations

New Drug Monographs

azilsartan/chlorthalidone (Edarbyclor)
New drug combination of an angiotensin II receptor blocker and thiazide-like diuretic indicated for treatment of hypertension.

glucarpidase (Voraxaze)
New carboxypeptidase enzyme indicated for toxic plasma methotrexate concentrations in patients with delayed methotrexate clearance due to impaired renal function.

Drug Monograph Updates

brentuximab (Adcetris)
A new black box warning was added that describes cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, a rare but serious brain infection that can result in death.

C1 inhibitor human (Berinert)
Expanded indication includes treatment of acute attacks for laryngeal hereditary angioedema.

pneumococcal vaccine 13-valent (Prevnar 13)
New indication for prevention of pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae in adults aged 50 years or older.

raltegravir (Isentress)
New pediatric indication for HIV-1 infection in children aged 2 years or older.

Fentanyl transmucosal (Subsys)
New sublingual spray indicated for breakthrough cancer pain.

Practice Changing Updates

Our app is continually being updated with new FDA drug approvals, the latest clinical updates from medical literature and current guidelines to help you stay informed and make the best decisions in the treatment of your patients. Here are this month’s featured updates:

Bacterial Pneumonia – Prevnar 13, a pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for people aged 50 years and older to prevent pneumonia and invasive disease caused by the bacterium, Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Human Papillomavirus – The CDC now recommends the quadrivalent HPV vaccine (Gardasil) for routine use in boys aged 11 or 12 years. Current recommendations advise vaccination for males aged 13-21 years who have not been vaccinated previously or who have not completed the 3-dose series.

I really think the hybrid design of the TFP is ideal for many situations, especially for those people that truly want to carry a single device. As much as I like tablets I find that I still need a keyboard for any significant data entry chores, whether it be with a spreadsheet, word processor, etc.

I would really like to see tablet PC manufacturers like Lenovo and Samsung do something similar, i.e. a keyboard dock that increases battery life and folds into a laptop style portfolio with the tablet docked. My dream machine would be a Samsung Series 7 Slate with a laptop dock similar to the TFP. It doesn’t appear that Samsung is interested in such a docking solution, but I’m hopeful that a third party will take the hint and do it anyway.

Fortunately for me there’s no shortage of tablets on the market: Windows OS, Android OS, iOS. Crud, based on reports from CES 2012 I’ll have a much bigger selection within another 6 months or so.

The iPad is out. Been there, done that. It didn’t meet my needs.

I’ve thought many times about going with an Android device. After all, I’ve used an Android smartphone for the better part of 3 years and love the operating system. The Samsung line of Android tablets is awesome, and the Asus Transformer Prime is nothing short of spectacular. If I were to purchase an Android tablet I’m certain that it would be the Prime, but alas, as a productivity device the Android tablets suffer from the same shortcomings as that fruity device.

Which brings us to the Windows tablets. I’ve been eying Windows tablets for a while, but I’ve been a bit underwhelmed. In addition I’m a fan of convertible tablets and those have virtually disappeared as everyone seems to be going to a slate model these days.

After looking over my options I think the Samsung Series 7 Slate is my best bet. It’s a fully functional Windows computer with no compromise. In addition it has decent battery life, good specs and works well with both touch and a pen – yes, I still prefer a pen for note taking. A friend and colleague recently purchased a Series 7 Slate and he’s been raving about it. I spent a little time playing with it today and I must say that I found it to be quite impressive.

So there you go. If I were to purchase a new tablet today it would be the Samsung Series 7 Slate. Then again, I did drool a little when I read about the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga.

And now for the bummer, it’s only available in Japan. Doh! Why can’t the U.S. have all these cool toys too?

The first video below shows the gesture control while the second is just a basic overview of the hardware and software.

You can find more information here.

Lexicomp’s I.V. Compatibility module is now available for your Lexicomp On-Hand subscription for Android™! By following the update instructions below, you can add this module to your existing Lexicomp On-Hand subscription. There is no additional charge for this enhancement.

The I.V. Compatibility module allows you to review compatibility and stability information for hundreds of parenteral medications and fluids. This module is based on information from the King® Guide to Parenteral Admixtures®. Thousands of clinicians are already using Lexicomp’s I.V. Compatibility module every day – now you can access this vital information on your Android smartphone or tablet as well.

To update your subscription to include I.V. Compatibility, follow these instructions:
Ensure you have a strong Wi-Fi or cellular connection.
On your Android device, tap the Market icon and search for Lexicomp.
Select Lexicomp and tap Update. When the warning appears, tap Accept & Download.
When the application is installed, tap the Lexicomp icon to access your software.

Lenovo T410S Laptop or Lenovo x201t Tablet PC – I go back and forth between these two machines. The T410S has a bigger screen, faster processor and more memory, but it’s not a tablet PC. The x201t is smaller, easier to use and I can take notes directly on the screen. The smaller size is especially important when I have a long flight; the T410S doesn’t fit well in the cattle-car seats on planes.

Motorola DROID – I love this phone and haven’t seen anything new to convince me to change, although I think I’ll have a Motorola DROID BIONIC shortly.

Kindle DX – Still nothing better than an e-ink screen for reading. Period. When I see a journal article worth reading I simple dump it in a “To Read” folder on my computer. Every so often I move those on to my Kindle DX and read them when I have down time. The DX’s large screen works well for PDFs.

Android Tablet (my rooted NOOK Color) – Games, email and social media in a small package with long battery life.

Verizon MiFi, a.k.a. “Mobile Hotspot” – Simply can’t live without connectivity

I recently purchased an HP TouchPad. It’s turned out to be a really nice tablet. I’ve enjoyed using it over the past few weeks.

On a recent trip to Cincinnati, OH I decided to leave my Kindle DX and Android tablet at home, and take the TouchPad instead. I used it for email, web surfing, social media and games; just like its Android counterpart. I tried using it for reading in place of the Kindle DX. It worked, but found that I like the e-ink screen better.

I’ve heard people say they use their tablets, specifically their iPads, for document creation, editing, etc. I managed to use the TouchPad to compose a blog post for another website while en route to Cincinnati, but I wouldn’t recommend doing it on a regular bases. Sure, I was able to create the post, but there were several things I missed. I’m not a natural writer and many of my blog posts go through several edits before getting pushed to the web. In my opinion a keyboard and mouse work better than a touchscreen for editing a document. Overall it worked, but certainly not as good as a laptop.

So, what’s the final verdict? The TouchPad could easily take the place of my Android tablet and my Kindle DX, but I still prefer the Kindle for reading. And you can forget about using something like the TouchPad in place of a laptop, it’s not even close.