Jerry Fahrni

Category: Mobile Computing

  • Physician dictation on mobile smartphones

    RTT News: “3M Health Information Systems has released 3M(TM) Mobile Dictation Software, a powerful new application that extends 3M’s dictation, transcription, and speech recognition solutions. Available on the BlackBerry(R) or Windows Mobile(R) platforms, the software offers physicians the freedom of using a single device for phone, email, and dictation, and provides “anytime, anywhere” access via Wi-Fi or 3G wireless service. 3M Mobile Dictation is enhanced with a full range of security features that fulfill HIPAA and hospital-specific guidelines for encryption and authentication.” – Developments such as mobile dictation could decrease the turnaround time between the physician’s spoken word and a readable document, which is one of the biggest issues with dictated notes. With the popularity of smartphones most physicians will have easy access to timely dictation. In theory that is.

    Visit the 3M site for more information.

  • Cool Technology for Pharmacy

    Installing and using Citrix Receiver on your iPhone/iPod Touch

    While at ASHP Midyear a colleague and friend of mine, @pillguy, was able to pull up the pharmacy system at his hospital using Citrix on his iPhone. At that moment I was attacked by a green monster and nearly consumed with envy. I can not yet match this feat of superiority with my Droid, but I’m hopeful.
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  • Verizon, you gotta love ’em

    eWeek: “Not only did it recently experience a win over disgruntled competitor AT&T, in being allowed to continue airing some cheeky ads, and then enjoy a jump in consumer opinion, but in a Dec. 1 statement, Consumer Reports revealed that Verizon was named the preferred carrier by the people it surveyed in 26 cities for its cell-phone-focused January issue.” – T-Mobile was second, while Sprint and AT&T tied for third. This is consistent with what I’ve heard around the hospital. I was previously assigned a Verizon mobile broadband card. Unfortunately our facility decided to move away from Verizon a couple of weeks ago and go with AT&T and Sprint. I am now using a Sprint 598U Wireless USB Plug and the performance and connectivity are terrible. While in Vegas last week I was unable to connect to the hospital VPN secondary to poor coverage and lack of speed. I couldn’t even check my email. I ended up using the browser on my Droid. My Verizon card never gave me any problems, ever. I spoke with a nurse today in our IT department who was assigned an AT&T mobile broadband card after previously using one from Verizon. Her story was similar to mine; bummer. It looks like I really need to set up my Droid to tether.

  • Lexi-Comp running on the Android OS

    I just saw a Tweet from Lexi-Comp announcing that they have a demonstration video of their ON-HAND software running on the Android platform. And because I’m using a Motorola Droid as my mobile device of choice, this is very exciting news. See the video below. Additional information is also available at the Lexi-Comp website.

  • One week with the Motorola Droid

    I have been carrying the Motorola Droid from Verizon around for a little over a week now, and while I haven’t learned all the ins and outs of the phone, I have certainly used it long enough to form an opinion.
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  • Get a diagnosis by coughing into your mobile phone?

    Telegraph.co.uk:  “Software being developed by American and Australian scientists will hopefully allow patients simply to cough into their phone, and it will tell them whether they have cold, flu, pneumonia or other respiratory diseases. Whether a cough is dry or wet, or “productive” or “non-productive” (referring to the presence of mucus on the lungs), can give a doctor information about what is causing that cough, for example whether it is caused by a bacterial or a viral infection.” – I don’t know about you, but I’m a little skeptical about this one.

    I find it interesting that the photo on the Telegraph site is of an iPhone, while the original article at DiscoveryNews shows a completely different device. Amazing how the media injects the iPhone into everything to increase interest.

    Read the press release from STAR Analytical Services here (PDF).

  • Drug information resources

    Below is a list of drug information resources for both mobile devices and online access. I’ve used most, but not all, of these resources and have found the mobile versions to be a valuable resource when you’re on the go. While it is possible to access the online versions of these resources via a smartphone, the mobile applications are designed with the smaller screen in mind and therefore, in my opinion, work better then the online versions when using a mobile device.

    Let me know if I missed any. Also feel free to comment on your favorite.
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  • Final thoughts on Dell Latitude XT2 Tablet PC

    dell_latitude_xt2_tablet_pcI’ve been using a Dell Latitude XT2 Tablet PC for a couple of months now. It goes with me to all my meetings and has replaced my stack of legal pads I used to have in my office. Is it a perfect replacement? No, but it’s good enough that I don’t think I’ll go back to paper anytime soon.

    Overall I’ve been pretty happy with this tablet and have grown quite accustomed to using it for almost all my computing needs. While I don’t think it will take the place of a desktop PC anytime soon, it is more than capable of stepping in as a replacement for my laptop.
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  • The HTC Imagio is a pretty nice smartphone

    htc_imagioI stopped by my local Verizon Wireless store to check out some of their new phones, specifically the BlackBerry Storm2 and the HTC Imagio. The Storm2 is definitely nicer than the original Storm, but the Imagio was more impressive.

    The HTC Imagio is an aesthetically pleasing device, created in the image of the iPhone. The thing that immediately caught my attention was the 3.6”, 400×800 HD touch screen. It is very nice and very responsive to touch. The Imagio runs on Windows Mobile 6.5, the newest version of the mobile operating system. In addition, the phone uses the TouchFLO 3D user interface designed by HTC, making navigation on the phone simple and intuitive.

    Overall, I like the HTC Imagio and would definitely consider it as my next phone. However, I’ll wait for the big droid release from Verizon before I make my final decision.

  • Great new idea for “InkPad” at GottaBeMobile

    Matthew Dillon at GottaBeMobile has come up with a great concept for a new tablet device that he calls “ink pad”. The most entertaining thing about the concept is that I have designed several of these on paper over the years myself. My scribbles are recorded in various notebooks lying around the house. Like Matthew, I too love Tablet PCs but have always felt that there is still a yet to be developed device that would be better.
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