This document contains summaries of 14 different sections from the book "Handheld Computers for Doctors" and other related sources. The sections discuss how various medical practices and departments in the UK have implemented and benefited from the use of handheld computers and electronic medical record systems. Specific benefits mentioned include reduced time spent on paperwork, improved continuity of patient care, faster collection and analysis of patient data, and increased efficiency of clinical work.

1. Reuters Foundation Digital Vision Program at Stanford University – 2003 November 20 Reuters Foundation Digital Vision Program at Stanford University – 2003 November 20
QEH family practice – chapter 13 of “Handheld computers for doctors”. We discussed
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with the GPs instances when the practice's reliance on paperwork was most irritating
to the doctors. Three areas became apparent: 1 - The personal development plan; 2 -
Tracking of expenses; 3 - The cataloguing of useful clinical literature.
http://www.handheldsfordoctors.com/book/text/chapter13.htm
Book – ISBN 0470858990 – www.handheldsfordoctors.com/book QEH internal medicine department – chapater 14 of “Handheld computers for
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doctors”. Like many hospitals in the UK, this one has been trying to cope with the
Web site – www.handheldsfordoctors.com/learn reduction in junior doctors' hours. Reducing hours means increasing reliance on the
shift system; more shifts mean more handovers; and handovers carry with them the
Shopping advice – www.handheldsfordoctors.com/shop risk of reducing continuity of care. The consultants asked whether handhelds could
assist in providing this continuity.
http://www.handheldsfordoctors.com/book/text/chapter14.htm
Installing and Implementing a Computer-based Patient Record System in Sub-Saharan
SATELLIFE - Thirty Ghanaian Red Cross volunteers, trained over a 2-day period, had
Africa: The Mosoriot Medical Record System. Joseph K. Rotich et al, Journal of the
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American Medical Informatics Association 10:295-303 (2003). Abstract: The authors no trouble with the technology, though some of them had never before used a
implemented an electronic medical record system in a rural Kenyan health center. Visit computer. They were able to complete over 2,400 surveys in just 3 days. The
data are recorded on a paper encounter form, eliminating duplicate documentation in traditional paper and pen survey method generally yielded about 200 finished surveys.
multiple clinic logbooks. Data are entered into an MS-Access database supported by Survey data were turned in at noon on the day following the immunization campaign.
redundant power systems. The system was initiated in February 2001, and 10,000 visit Analysis was completed promptly after the data was hot synched into a computer and
records were entered for 6,190 patients in six months. The authors present a summary then written up as a complete report for the Ministry of Health by 5pm. The speed and
of the clinics visited, diagnoses made, drugs prescribed, and tests performed. After ease of gathering this epidemiological data was unprecedented.
system implementation, patient visits were 22% shorter. They spent 58% less time http://pda.healthnet.org/
with providers (p < 0.001) and 38% less time waiting (p = 0.06). Clinic personnel
spent 50% less time interacting with patients, two thirds less time interacting with each
other, and more time in personal activities. This simple electronic medical record HanDBase – a fully featured relational database. The “relational” bit means it can
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system has bridged the quot;digital divide.quot; Financial and technical sustainability by elegantly handle complex information, and is the standard for database programs on
Kenyans will be key to its future use and development. PCs. To have squeezed these capabilities into the confines of a PDA was impressive in
the early days of underpowered Palm models. Pervious versions have efficiently
handled data creation, storage and searching. Through the infrared beam, beaming and
Project Palm - In January 2001, the Clinical and Biomedical Computing Unit (CBCU), printing were also possible. The new version improves the interface for all these
features, making most tasks easier, or simpler.
now based within the Centre for Applied Research in Educational Technology
(CARET), provided 30 fourth-year medical students with m100 Palm Pilots, and http://www.handheldsfordoctors.com/learn/organisation/handbase3review.htm
developed software specifically for these handheld devices. The aim of this project,
Project Palm, was to develop an infrastructure for collaborative learning among the RepliGo - the Acrobat Reader program on handheld computers is awful. RepliGo does
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students – could the students, armed with handhelds and appropriate software, improve the job much better. You still need to go through a conversion process, but that is
their learning from a rich yet fragmented and ad hoc teaching environment? where the similarities end. First, the conversion is intuitive and quick as you simply
http://www.caret.cam.ac.uk/pdfs_ppts/projectpalm.pdf print the document, and choose RepliGo as your printer. Second, the software's Text
reflow and Rotated icons are intelligently programmed to allow better readability of
QEH hematology department – chapter 12 of “Handheld computers for doctors” and as the document on a small device.
http://www.handheldsfordoctors.com/learn/ebooks/repligo.htm
a paper: Mohammad Al-Ubaydli, Laura Deans: Introduction Of Handheld Computers
Into The Haematology Department Of A District General Hospital. The Internet
Journal of Pediatrics and Neonatology. 2003. Volume 3 Number 1. Medical Approaches – grew out of a sense of frustration with our own weakness
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http://www.mo.md/id155.htm reasoning at the bedside. We wished to formulate our medical knowledge as ‘bottom
up’ strategies for clinical problem solving rather than as ‘top down’ encyclopaedias of

2. Reuters Foundation Digital Vision Program at Stanford University – 2003 November 20 Reuters Foundation Digital Vision Program at Stanford University – 2003 November 20
diseases. Additionally, we came to recognise that moving from problem to diagnosis is Mohammad Al-Ubaydli is a doctor and programmer who regularly teaches about
a little like inverse problems in mathematics – there is no single solution only a set of computers and their use. He passionately believes that, with a little knowledge, doctors
solutions which work better than others. Progress with underdetermined problems like can use information technology to make real differences to clinical practice.
these benefits from drawing on a large pool of experience. What we needed then was a
structure which housed approaches for clinical problem solving which could be freely He graduated in 2000 with a class I degree from Cambridge University. As part of the
accessed and exchanged amongst junior doctors. Its community of users would University's Project Palm, he helped develop software that allowed medical students to
contribute their experiences and take away with them those from a broader medical share their learning using handheld computers.
community. The content would be open source.
http://www.handheldsfordoctors.com/learn/ebooks/approaches.htm In 2001, he co-founded Medical Futures Ltd, which launched the Medical Futures
Innovation Awards. The awards have raised awareness amongst doctors on the process of
InfoPOEMs – a database system of filtered, synopsized, evidence-based information. using their ideas and inventions to improve health care. (www.medicalfutures.co.uk)
InfoRetriever searches a full spectrum of evidence-based content and tools: all POEMs
and Cochrane Systematic Review abstracts, more than 140 decision support tools, In 2002, during his first year of clinical practice, he continued to lecture and consult on
more than 1,800 diagnostic calculators supporting selection and interpretation of the use of handheld computers in medicine. He also co-founded Medical Approaches, a
diagnostic tests and the H&P, and over 700 summaries of evidence-based practice non-profit organisation. Its medical textbook is freely available for all handheld
guidelines. Plus, the full 5-Minute Clinical Consult, and more. computers. (www.medicalapproaches.org)
http://www.infopoems.com/
After his PRHO jobs he wrote Handheld computers for doctors and founded Idiopathic
Picsel – software that allows you to view almost any content on most handheld Publishing to publish, market and sell the book worldwide. The book received 4/4 stars
devices. The talent shows in the incredible efficiency and versatility of the software. when reviewed by the BMJ, and was then bought and republished by John Wiley & Sons
By any content, I mean a list that includes Acrobat's PDF, Microsoft's Word and Ltd. He has also written many articles, including “How to become a publisher”, a four-
Macromedia's Flash. Nor does it need any conversion process to open a document. In part series in the BMJ. (www.handheldsfordoctors.com/book)
fact, it opens Acrobat PDF files open faster on my humble Pocket PC than Acrobat's
own reader does on my fully-featured PC. And in web browser mode, it handles most Dr Al-Ubaydli is now a Visiting Research Fellow at the National Center for
websites beautifully. Biotechnology Information in Bethesda, MD. He is also on the Executive Committees of
http://www.handheldsfordoctors.com/learn/wireless/browsers/picsel.htm the British Medical Informatics Society, the Royal Society of Medicine's Junior Fellows,
and the Journal of Surgery. (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
DatePak – DatePak allows you to share calendars with the rest of your team. It is a
simple idea, but it solves a big problem well. When junior doctors join a hospital, they email: me@mo.md web: www.mo.md
are inundated with leaflets about teaching sessions. They are also advised to constantly
check several locations where new information about teaching sessions will be
announced. Of course, doctors have a busy schedule, and they are not expected to be
able to attend every session. But with such an intensive training, it is a real shame to
miss sessions through not being aware of the schedule.
http://www.handheldsfordoctors.com/learn/organisation/datepak.htm
Customising intranets for handheld computers – Al-Ubaydli, M: Principles for
designing hospital intranets for handheld computer user. Vine 2003: 33; issue 2. In
print. This was based on original article, published at:
http://www.handheldsfordoctors.com/learn/wireless/principles.htm