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PDA (Mobile Computing Initiative)
The School of Medicine and Public Health has a Mobile Computing Initiative that includes use of personal digital assistants (PDAs). Medical students are required to have a PDA (see minimum requirements and recommended models below) by the start of their second year. We encourage students to consider purchasing a PDA to become familiar with using it sometime during their first year. Many hospital residents and practicing physicians now use PDAs on a routine basis as an important resource for class schedules, patient care information and for data management and reference.
The SMPH is developing a curriculum in which PDAs are used to learn about prescription writing and to log patient encounters and clinical procedures. Student course schedules and group information will also be downloadable to PDAs. Our goal is to promote medical education using leading edge technology. If you have questions about purchasing a PDA, or what software is available, please contact Adrian Gay at pdahelp@med.wisc.edu.
Recommendations
The SMPH currently supports Palm® Operating System (OS) devices. However many of the medical programs needed are available for other platforms such as Windows Mobile devices.
Palm® Handhelds (currently available)
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| Models | Status | Price (Approx.) |
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| Tungsten™ E2 handheld | Minimum level of functionality. | $199 |
| T|X handheld | Recommended Model | $299 |
Palm® Smart Phones (currently available)
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| Treo™ 680 | Acceptable level of functionality | $149.99* |
| Treo™ 700p | Acceptable level of functionality | $399.99* |
| Treo™ 755p | Acceptable level of functionality | $249.99* |
| Palm® Centro | Acceptable level of functionality | $399* |
* Price dependant on wireless plan and provider
Any of the above devices have an acceptable level of functionality for use with the software available to Medical students. The T|X handheld is recommended because of the large amount of internal memory (128MB) and its ability to connect to the internet through Wi-Fi. With the T|X handheld you will be able to store more programs, get updates for software, such as Epocrates®, and download email though Wi-Fi.
Memory Card (Expansion)
We are also highly recommending purchasing a Memory Card with your device.
Some of the programs such as InfoRetriever® will not work without it. Also if you have a device that only has 32MB internal memory you will need the memory card to use Epocrates® Essentials. Another advantage to getting a memory card is the ability to use your Palm® device to listen to MP3s (songs, audiobooks, lecture captures), view digital media and photos.
We recommend a SD (Secure Digital) memory card of 512MB to 2GB in storage capacity.
Note: MMC (MultiMedia Card) will work in several of the devices but that card type seems to be phasing out.
Note: The miniSD and microSD cards have adapters that can be used in regular sized SD expansion card slots.
Security Guidelines
- In the interests of adhering to HIPAA rules, if you use your PDA to keep track of patient information you are expected to password protect your device. Password protection can be accessed through the preferences icon on your Palm®.
- Password protection should always be active and set for 5 minutes or less. Your PDA should be set to turn off automatically within three minutes or less.
- Synchronization of sensitive PDA Information with home computers. Please be cognizant when synchronizing patient and staff-related data on home computers.
- Home Cable, DSL, and/or LAN users should have a Firewall security protection installed on their home computers.
- Home computer users who have sensitive data on their PDAs are responsible for ensuring that the data is secure. Transfer of a home computer or PDA to another person necessitates erasing of all patient and staff-related data.
Recommended Software
Below is a list of software, some of it will be an important part of your clinical years and used frequently, others will be reference, calculators, schedules, etc.
Epocrates® Rx (Free Version)
Free mobile drug and formulary reference.
Epocrates® Essentials (Subscription available to Medical Students) *
Integrated drug, disease, and diagnostic suite for mobile devices.
Epocrates® Medical Dictionary (Subscription available to Medical Students) *
Mobile guide to over 100,000 medical terms.
* As part of our on-going PDA Initiative and as a result of our participation in the
Epocrates® University Consortium and the SMPH has
arranged for all medical students to get new one year subscription or extension to
Epocrates® Essentials and Epocrates® Medical Dictionary .
Essential Evidence Plus (formerly InfoRetriever) (Subscription available to Health Science Students)*
A powerful electronic resource packed with all of the medical evidence you need to make critical patient care decisions.
Essential Evidence Plus features must-have content, tools, calculators, and daily email alerts for clinicians who deliver first-contact care.
* Provided to Health Sciences students by Ebling Library, SMPH, and the Department of Family Medicine.
MicroMedex (Subscription available to Health Science Students)
Evidence based decision support for your PDA.
- disease information
- laboratory test information
- drugs
- interactions
- alternative medicine
- toxicology
- news & alerts
- and convenient calculators
Miscellaneous Freeware
Below is a list of Free Palm® based medical software. These are not required although you may find them useful as reference tools.
ABG Pro (Files: ABG_Pro.PRC)
Arterial Blood Gases Pro is a program that will completely analyze arterial blood gases.
Breastfeed (Files: Breastfeed.PRC)
Breastfeed is an informational reference on multiple aspects of breastfeeding from Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition.
Diagnosaurus
McGraw-Hill's Diagnosaurus 2.0, the FREE medical PDA software, is completely updated for the new age in healthcare and used by tens of thousands of students, physicians, and health professionals.
Eponyms (Files: Eponyms.PRC, EponymsDB.PDB)
Eponyms is a list of 1,600 common and obscure medical eponyms (e.g., Rovsing's sign, Virchow's node) with descriptions.
HeartBeat (Files: HeartBeat.prc)
With this program you can measure your heart rate.
Herbal Zone(Files: Herbal.prc, Herbal.pdb)
Decision support for widely used herbs.
Johns Hopkins Antibiotic Guide (ABX)
(ABX) Guide is a "decision support tool" intended to provide clinicians with concise, digested, timely information about the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases.
Med Calc (Files: MedCalc.prc, MathLib.prc)
Med Calc is a medical calculator running on Palm® Powered™ handheld devices. It is designed for rapid calculation of common equations used in clinical medicine (including anesthesiology, pediatrics, emergency, intensive care and internal medicine).
Med Rules(Files: MedRules.prc, NSBRuntime.prc, MathLib.prc)
MedRules is an award-winning application featuring useful clinical prediction rules taken from the medical literature.
Medical Mnemonics
A searchable database of medical mnemonics designed to assist students in remembering medical information.
PalmEKG™(Files: PalmEKG.PRC)
PalmEKG is an Arrhythmia Field Guide for Your Palm Computer.
PregWheel(Files: PregWheel.PRC)
PregWheel is a simple medical utility program for use in obstetrics.
PSI (Files: PSI.PRC)
Pneumonia Severity Index Calculator: An interactive tool for the Pneumonia Severity Index from the Assessment of the Variation and Outcomes of Pneumonia
Shots 2007-08 (Files: Shots 2007.prc, ShotsDb.pdb)
Shots 2007 is a quick reference guide to the Childhood Immunization Schedule, a collaboration of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and the 2007-2008 Adult Immunization Schedule, recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Details on each vaccine are available by clicking on the vaccine names.
Medical Software Links
Collective Med
The premier source for medical PDA software on the Internet.
Select from hundreds of Palm® and Windows Mobile medical software titles.
MedsPDA
Providing a convenient, and comprehensive single resource for the busy mobile medical professional.
PDA MediSoft
Medical and health software downloads for Palm® Symbian, Windows Mobile (Pocket PC), (Smartphones) and BlackBerry® (RIM).
Skyscape
A source for Mobile medical information, resources, tools, and customizable content for medical professionals. (Ex.: Harrison’s Manual Of Medicine, Stedmans’s Medical Dictionary, 5 Min.- Emergency Medical Consult, etc…)
Software Advice (Medical)
Medical Software Advice is a free online resource that helps physicians find PDA software for their practices.
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