Pharmacy Informatics and Technology
I found this interesting video (below) showing some of the things BlackBerry is doing at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). The name BlackBerry really doesn’t come to mind when you think of healthcare. Maybe the new BlackBerry PlayBook will help change all that. It’s a compelling device for anyone already using a BlackBerry smartphone.
There’s a great review of the BlackBerry PlayBook at CrackBerry.com if you’re interested in learning more about the device.
As usual there were a lot of things that happened during the week, and not all of it was pharmacy or technology related. Here’s a quick look at some of the stuff I found interesting.
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I always find it interesting to see what brings someone to my website and what they decided to read once they get here. Most of the time it isn’t pharmacy related at all. Funny how that works.
Most read posts over last week:
Top searchterm phrases for last week
Web 2.0 has certainly created an information revolution. I used to rely solely on journal articles to keep me up to date. Now I rely on an internet connection. Unfortunately, this creates a situation where information arrives faster than I can digest it, and if you’re not careful you can drown in the excess and end up not learning a thing.
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mobilehealthnews: “For the record, BlackBerry has conducted clinical trials with smartphones paired with Bluetooth-enabled medical peripheral devices for years. Three of the company’s smartphones are among the five most popular smartphones in North America. At least one executive at BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion is a bit curious about all the hype around Apple’s recent medical foray with the iPhone. mobihealthnews recently had the chance to discuss wireless healthcare trends with Research In Motion’s Fraser Edward who heads the company’s Healthcare Marketing Group. In this second installment, Edward explains the points above and much, much more, including: which types of BlackBerrys physicians prefer, why wireless health needs to adopt a “belts and braces” approach, how RIM’s latest acquisition — Chalk Media — fits into wireless health, and what the BlackBerry App World’s advent signifies. Edward also shares his favorite App World app.” – Edwards goes on to talk about physician preferences for various BlackBerry devices, going as far as to say “to pinpoint the phones that I’ve seen us getting a lot of traction on within the medical community — it would be the Storm and the Bold“. If I were to use a BlackBerry device, I believe it would be the Storm. I like the idea of a touch screen more and more each day. However, I’ve heard many people claim the Bold is much better for messaging. The future of BlackBerry devices appears fuzzy as the iPhone’s popularity continues to grow. It seems that every physician, pharmacist and IT professional I see in the hospital is carrying an iPhone. Remember the days of the Palm Pilot and its incredible popularity? There was a time when Palm powered handheld devices enjoyed the same popularity as the BlackBerry devices do today. As the smart phone revolution got underway, Palm devices simply disappeared. The popularity of the iPhone will eventually do the same to the BlackBerry, especially when Apple begins offering the iPhone through other carriers. Among pharmacists in “my circle”, I am one of the few that chose not to change carriers for the iPhone. Only time will tell what will happen to BlackBerry smart phones, but I see the end sooner than later unless Research In Motion has something up its sleeve. Apple and the iPhone are simply too powerful. Good luck BlackBerry, you’re going to need it.
