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COMPUTERS
Thinking about joining the hand-held revolution? Here are five points to consider before you buy.
Personal digital assistant (PDA) is actually a catchall term for the plethora of battery-operated, hand-held electronic devices on the market today. While a PDA cannot replace a standard-sized computer, it often serves as an extension to one because of its small size, portability and ease of use. PDAs are great for keeping daily schedules, taking notes and looking up and recording clinical information. Unfortunately, they dont currently have the capacity to hold electronic medical records (EMRs) or to store large graphics. Nor do they have a great deal of interactive capability. Still, they are excellent devices for managing clinical information and accessing it at the point of care.
If you're considering purchasing a PDA, consider these five important points before you buy:
Functionality. Some physicians use their PDAs solely as personal organizers to keep their schedules, address books and to-do lists. Others use them for quick pharmacology references, for medical calculations and for taking brief notes during meetings and patient encounters. Still others use them for accessing more extensive clinical references (e.g., Harrison Principles of Internal Medicine and Wtb's 5-Minute Clinical Consult [available at www.handheldmed.com]) and for record keeping. Before you purchase your first PDA, you should have a general idea of how you plan to use it in your daily practice. If you want to use it only as a replacement for your paper planner, consider purchasing a very basic...