The Los Angeles Times mentioned MedicalSmartphones.com in this article titled, "A guide to healthcare apps for your smart phone." Thanks for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this important topic!With thousands of apps to choose from on such topics as exercise, stress management, diet and medical reference, trustworthiness is at a premium.I'd also like to thank all those who sent a Tweet about this! (including @doctorwes, @gastromom, @danhooker, and others)
There's a great report on the California HealthCare Foundation written by Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, M.A., M.H.S.A. titled, "How Smartphones Are Changing Health Care for Consumers and Providers." We've seen a rapid uptake of smartphone use (even among physicians who are not the most "tech-savvy" physicians), but do we know how smartphones will change the world of health care? You'll want to read this by clicking here. Thank you Jane for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this report.
I'm on ReachMD talking about smartphones this week. As more physicians choose to use smartphones, they need to make choices about operating systems and functionality. You can listen to my commentary here and be sure to vote in the poll:According to a recent Manhattan Research report, 80% of physicians will be using smartphones by the year 2013. Are you currently using a smartphone, or are you using an older device like a Palm Pilot?http://www.reachmd.com/xmsegment.aspx?sid=5337
If you’ve never used a smartphone, get ready to have the power of the Internet right in your hand. You can check your e-mail anywhere you go, access automatically updated databases, and stay current with the latest medical news. By leveraging this type of digital information, you can use this powerful device right at the point of care. Plus, if you’re currently using an electronic health record, you may even have access to that EHR right from your phone.
Now if we stop to look at a few specific smartphones, we’ll see that the Apple iPhone is very popular among physicians. However, this device lack a physical keyboard and some users have complained about the difficulty of using the on-screen keyboard. So, if you’re looking for a device that has a physical keyboard, consider the Motorola Droid running Google’s Android operating system or the Palm Pre running the new Palm webOS. Microsoft is also coming out with a brand new system called Windows Phone 7 Series. BlackBerry is rumored to be releasing a device that finally includes both a touch screen plus a physical keyboard, so you can have the best of both worlds.
Be sure to vote in this week’s poll about smartphones: what feature is most important when you’re selecting a smartphone?
I know it's hard to believe, but so many doctors are falling behind on the use of mobile technology. They're still using PDAs that are over 5 years old and they aren't using modern smartphones. I recently attended an educational meeting where over 300 physicians had gathered. Although many were using modern smartphones, quite a few still had PDAs running the original Palm OS or Pocket PC. I'm surprised the batteries on these devices still provide enough battery life on these devices that are over 5 years old.
Recently, the top keyword that has been driving people to this website has been: "android vs. iPhone"
Have you noticed that physicians and other health care professionals seem to be upgrading to new smartphones every year or two? As the price for the average smartphone continues to drop, it's not surprising to see more physicians upgrading to newer models.
Back in the "old days," medical students and residents often relied on a pocket book and they referred to this as their "second brain" or "peripheral brain." This little book contained all the vital formulas, charts, tables, and clinical pearls that would help you survive the wards (and outpatient care as well).
Entering medical students at the UMDNJ (University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey) Robert Wood Johnson Medical School are required to have an Apple iPhone or iPod touch. They should just build the cost into the tuition and issue devices for their students. This fall all entering medical school students at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School were required to have an iPod Touch or iPhone as well as a laptop computer...So, it may be the Apple iPhone this year, but what about in 5 or 10 years? What will be the dominant smartphone in the future?
“What mobility really means is total access to course material for our students anywhere in the world at any time of the day,” remarks Alex Izaguirre, director of information technology at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “The introduction of the mobility initiative empowers the school to move in directions previously not possible. For example, students will have access to a repertoire of new applications, both commercially available and internally developed, affording them with state-of-the-art medical training.”
“This initiative complements many other technological advances at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School including the implementation of the electronic medical record and e-prescribing within our physician practice,” explains Dr. Amenta. “We continually strive to remain at the forefront of modern healthcare in research, education, community health and patient care.”
• Storing information that is sensitive: If you’re thinking of loading all your patient data on your phone so that you can access it at the click of a button, then you’re failing to protect your patients adequately. Phones are small gadgets that are easily lost or stolen, and if this information falls into the wrong hands, you could be guilty of violating privacy laws like the HIPAA. What you could do in order to keep the information at your fingertips is to set up a link to your EMR using a secure password and an application that allows you to do the same. This way, you retain access and protect your patients’ privacy in one shot.When you use your smartphone more wisely, you gain more benefits from it.
• Failing to protect your data: Some doctors do prefer to have all the information on their phone; so in these cases, it’s up to them to install the necessary software to protect their phones from being hacked even if they are stolen or misplaced. Most smartphones come with built-in protective features that erase all data on your phone if an incorrect password is entered more than thrice. If your phone is not protected, invest in third party applications that offer similar options. At the same time, ensure that you don’t end up erasing all the information yourself by inadvertently entering the wrong password.
• Loading too many applications on their phone: There are hundreds of thousands of apps that have been developed for the iPhone and other smartphones, most of which are useful and some of which are just for entertainment value. When you download apps to your phone, ensure that you don’t tax your memory or add them when you’re not going to use them at all.
