Handheld Computers Facilitate Patient Care and Tracking

By Eileen Eandi, Information Specialist and Editor of Newsletter, a publication of the Norris Medical Library at the University of Southern California

(Editor's note: We will be periodically featuring articles on health information applications of this increasingly popular technology in upcoming issues of Latitudes.)

Today's healthcare professionals and students are using a single, pocket-sized device to track their patients, look up drug and clinical information, compute medical calculations, and check their daily schedules. Known as personal digital assistants, or PDAs, these handheld computers are revolutionizing the online market.

Palm Computing has led the PDA industry, with Palm Pilots currently accounting for more than 65% of the handheld market. The original "Palm Pilot" now comes in several models of varying sizes, dimensions, and capacities. Most are capable of Internet access with the purchase of a modem accessory. Developed by some of the architects behind the original Palm Pilot, the Handspring Visor Deluxe offers complete Palm compatibility with the same amount of memory at a price lower than that of some Palm models. Other PDAs include the Casio Cassiopeia, Compaq iPAC Pocket PC, and HP Jornada. Prices of these handheld computers generally range from approximately $250 to $450.

Perhaps the most important function of the handheld for the healthcare student or professional is as a source of patient data or medical reference information, such as drug dosages, DRG codes, or lab values. Many quality PDA software application programs for tracking patients, medical calculation, and drug information are currently available and new programs are being developed at a rapid rate.

Since many of the useful medical software resources consume large amounts of storage space, it is advisable to purchase a PDA with at least 8 megabytes of memory. For example, installing the two clinical programs, Griffith's 5 Minute Consult and LexiDrugs, on a handheld uses up approximately 6 MB of memory. There are two primary formats for the storage of information on the Palm: document (or DOC) files, and databases. To get the most out of a handheld, a document reader and a database program are recommended. An advanced calculator can also be useful.

Although PDAs can operate alone, they derive much of their usefulness from the ability to transfer data between the handheld device and a desktop PC using PDA desktop software, and to convert data to and from existing organizer applications. Through a process of synchronization, often called a "sync," data on the handheld device is backed up on the hard drive of the PC. The hardware that is used to carry out this operation is called a "cradle." While the PDA rests in the cradle, a cable runs from the cradle to the PC's hard drive.

Hitting a single button initiates the synchronization. The amount of time required to perform a sync depends on the amount of data that needs to be backed up and also on the number of applications that are running on the handheld device.

In addition to synchronizing data, the cradle and desktop software can be used to add applications to the handheld device. Users can download software from the Internet to the PC and then perform a sync to load the software onto the PDA.

(Editor's note: Norris Medical Library maintains a web page entitled PDAs for the Health Sciences. The page contains links to PDA manufacturers, applications, tips, and discussion groups. This article was excerpted, with permission, from the Fall 2000 issue of Newsletter.)

Next Article