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A primer for physical therapists.
As you walk into your office you pull a small device from your pocket and plug it into the reception-area computer. A minute later, you disconnect the device and view an updated schedule for your day. You note that a new patient will be coming in who has had a surgical procedure with which you are unfamiliar, h will be easy to contact the patient's doctor with questions, because when you first met this doctor last week she beamed her business card directly onto your device.
You switch from the scheduler mode on this same device to a portable book on orthopedic surgeries and look up the procedure. Before seeingyour first patient, you also check your e-mail on the device, quickly tapping out on it a response to a former patient who has inquired about some exercises. You keep the device at arms reach throughout the day, using it to track patient charges, look up drug information, and jot quick reminder notes to yourself.
The days of small, easy-to-lose adhesive notes and big unwieldy day minders are in the past. You are a PDA professional
The personal digital assistant (PDA) is a small handheld computer capable of storing large quantities of data-from patient-based information to clinical guides, drug reference databases, and statistical material. The PDA's utility and popularity stems from its convenient portability; it's designed to slip into a shirt pocket. Its small size means a PDA can travel with a physical therapist (PT) to any clinical setting, from hospital bedside to home care.
No longer the glorified address/ scheduler books of the 1990s, today's PDAs allow users to surf the Web, communicate by e-mail, watch videos, and listen to music-and still have as much as 64 or even 128 megabytes of RAM (random access memory) for storage capacity. With technological advances in memory capacity, processing ability, and screen capability, PDAs in many ways function as miniature computers. Yet they are designed to serve as accompaniments to computers, not replacements for them.
The Basics
PDAs typically feature a date book, an address book, a task list, an expense tracker, a calculator, a memo pad, and often e-mail-essentially, all the programs a busy PT might need in order to...