A few weeks ago I installed the Blausen Human Atlas HD application on my iPad. The application features some pretty incredible 3D images and video. The videos provide an animated narrative on a host of medical conditions and treatments. In addition the Blausen application offers a cool 3D rendering of the human body and a glossary of terms. The images contained in this blog really don’t do it justice, as the iPad’s screen does a very nice job of displaying images like these.
Quick Hit – Mobile devices in our pharmacy
During preparation for a presentation that I’m giving at Innovations 2010 on mobile computing in pharmacy, I realized that we seem to be collecting quite a variety of mobile devices in the pharmacy at Kaweah Delta. Below are some images of the devices currently in use.
Read more …
Quick update: Pharmacy iPad use
I’ve been running around the pharmacy with a new iPad for the last couple of days. Actually, I’ve been handing it off to pharmacist after pharmacist for the last couple of days. After seeing the device, they all of a sudden have some interest in it. Go figure.
My hope is to use the iPad as a tool for the pharmacists on the floor to access patient data, drug information resources, etc. The advantages of the devices are its size and weight – the iPad actually fits in the outside pocket of the pharmacists lab coat – along with its 10-plus hour battery life.
Read more …
The web is overflowing with iPad love and attention
I’ve been sitting here this morning while on vacation reading over a couple of iPad reviews (kids are still in bed from a late night at a theme park). One review is from Walt Mossberg at the Wall St Journal and the other is from David Pogue at the New York Times. I found both reviews via a GottaBeMobile post discussing the battery life on the iPad.
Read more …
Motorola DROID getting some attention in the pharmacy literature
The February 2010 issue of Hospital Pharmacy (PDF) contains a review of the Motorola DROID, and the authors overall impression of the device is positive. I’ve had a DROID since its release in early November 2009. My initial impressions of the device can be found here.
As mentioned by the authors in the article the currently available pharmacy-related applications are limited when compared to devices like the iPhone, but the numbers are growing. Drug information resources like Lexi-Comp, Skyscape and ePocrates are now available for use on the DROID as well as some medical references like Merck Medicus, Unboud Medicine and UpToDate (via mobile browser). Unfortunately I don’t have a list of available medical applications for the Android operating system nor do I know of a site that does, but the popularity of the Android operating system is growing and it’s only a matter of time before other medical references start popping up.
One piece of advice in the article that I found interesting was to “begin by selecting the telecommunication service that is most reliable and has the best connectivity coverage for voice and data in the community where you live.” Imagine that, selecting a mobile phone that first and foremost keeps you connected. I’ll make sure to keep that in mind the next time I feel the need to purchase another smartphone. Then again maybe I won’t. I guess that depends on how badly I want the device.
Epocrates beta for webOS
It looks like Epocrates beta is available for the Palm webOS platform. Check out the video below to get the gist for the look and feel of the app.
I don’t use Epocrates myself. My mobile drug information resources of choice come from Lexi-Comp. However, Epocrates is a very popular and highly respected resource among healthcare professionals.
Unfortunately Palm and the webOS don’t appear to have a good long-term prognosis in the smartphone arena. I’ve been reading various reports that Palm may be on its way out secondary to the iPhone, BlackBerry and newer android devices. That’s really too bad. I’ve been a big fan of the Palm operating system since its inception back in the 1990’s. In fact, I would be using a Palm Pre today if it would have been available through Verizon when I purchased my DROID.
I’d love to talk with someone at Palm about building an 8-10” slate tablet device running webOS. The simplicity of the operating system and the ability to really have multiple applications open at once is very appealing. Consider that you can also run legacy Palm OS software on webOS-based devices via emulator software like Classic from Motionapps, and you really have something to like. I fear that this is only a dream, however, as I haven’t heard a peep about anything from Palm even remotely resembling a tablet device.
So, Palm, if you ever feel the need to build a tablet device please give me a call. I have some ideas for you.
DynaMed – an evidence based medicine point of care tool
Our facility is running a trial of DynaMed, “an evidence based medicine point-of-care” database. It reminds me of UpToDate.
From the DynaMed site:
• According to the National Academy Press (2001) 44-98,000 American deaths per year occur due to preventable medical errors; medical errors are estimated to cost the U.S. $17 to $29 billion annually
• Using the “best available evidence” for clinical decision-making improves health outcomes and reduces health care costs
• Busy clinicians use “fast and easy” resources expected to answer most of their questions instead of resources designed to provide the best current evidence
• Clinicians sometimes turn to textbooks and online resources with substantial breadth, but these resources do not use the best available evidence
• Physicians and other health care professionals need a resource where they can reliably answer most questions quickly and accurately (i.e., with the best available evidence)
Can the Apple tablet, i.e. the iSlate, resurrect interest for tablets in healthcare?
I read an interesting blog today. In the blog the author states that:
An Apple tablet would be the ultimate UI for electronic medical records. With a touch-screen display like the iPhone, using the EMR during an encounter would be simplified. For example, selecting an evaluation and management (E&M) code could be as easy as “dialing in” the code with a swipe of a finger.
Using the iPhone’s intelligent keyboard technology, the device could have a very sophisticated automatic coding tool. Some EMRs can already auto-generate E&M codes based on information collected during the patient encounter. Combine this with the iPhone’s keyboard word suggestion tool, and physicians could rapidly select codes. Additionally, just as the iPhone adapts its keys and layout for different applications, the Mac Tablet could display a unique keyboard setting for each EMR function.
Using iPhone speech recognition technology, physicians could dictate directly into an EMR to create notes, draft narrative reports or generate custom patient instructions. Mac design programs could be repurposed to make a really slick tablet drawing tool for anatomical diagrams that illustrate procedures and diagnoses.
There is no question that I think tablets are underutilized in healthcare. I have pushed them into the hands of pharmacists at my facility and have tried various different things to encourage their use. While I would love to see tablet computers adopted in mass among healthcare systems, I just don’t think it’s in the cards for the iSlate for several reasons.
Read more …
“What’d I miss?” – Week of January 3rd
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.
Read more …
