1. Personal Digital Assistants: Revolutionizing Medical Care Lauren McKenna and Dallas Warren ORF/PSY 322- H/M Interactions May 5 th, 2005

2. INTRODUCTION Initially, PDAs were used solely as digital planners Now, PDAs are now revolutionizing the healthcare industry and improving medical care Hopefully,technological developments will have further benefits

3. Development and Use of the PDA HP introduced the palmtop personal computer in 1991 Everyday use by various people Healthcare sector is increasing its PDA use as technology improves

4. PDAs in the Healthcare Industry U.S. Department of Health and Human Services aims to use IT to improve healthcare system Mobile decision making cuts costs, saves time, reduces errors, and improves patient care quality

5. PDA characteristics Small size Easy operation Large memory capacity Versatile mobility Internet capability for uploading and downloading Convenience

6. Who uses PDAs in the medical sector? Patients Medical students Pharmacists Nurses Doctors

7. Patients Medication reminders - pillPAL Electronic journal for recording symptoms and drug effects Communication with medical professionals - Invivodata Personal involvement and education Preventative care – diet, exercise, smoking, disease risks

8. Medical Students Online textbooks Access to drug information Documentation of training - T-Res Clinical rotation information - PEPID

9. Nurses Reduce administrative time Eliminate paperwork Improve accuracy Retrieve patient history Record bed-side activity Scheduling Communication with medical team

10. Doctors Research and access to medical information – symptoms, diagnosis, prescriptions, treatment options Keeping up with recent medical advancements via automatic updating Access to patient history, lab results and rounds reports Storage of patient information

11. Statistics of PDA use among Doctors Skyscape survey, Aug. 2004 – 88% of medical professionals who own a PDA check drug references; 38% check drug interactions; 75% look at clinical references Survey by Forrester Research, March 2005 – 60% of doctors with PDAs use them to write prescriptions

12. PDA software Software developed for specific fields of medicine Anesthesiology: software combines patient bedside data with drug databases ER doctors: Midnight Medicine software references common medical emergencies

13. Gender and Age Use Studies indicate similar usage among men and women PDAs more common among younger medical professionals – Skyscape study reported 73% of resident medics owned PDA’s vs. 45% of doctors over age 45

14. Why Use PDAs in Medicine? Single place data storage replacing textbooks, journals etc. Speed of access to information Elimination or reduction of human error due to human mistakes,fatigue or distractions Interaction among treatment providers

15. Why Use PDAs in Medicine? Large storage capacity for data, images and programs Search and retrieval capability at high speed Automatic updating of information for patient progress, billing information and medical advancements

16. Case Studies Around the World Uganda: PDAs used to transmit medical information, warn against outbreaks, medication alerts etc. Norway: medical students able to integrate Evidence-Based Medicine into their education Canada: PDAs helping alleviate staffing shortages in pharmacies

17. Current Benefits Improve doctors’ ability to diagnose and treat efficiently and accurately Cost reduction Aid in education Keeps medical professionals informed of new developments Improve medical care in isolated or underdeveloped areas

18. Current Benefits cont. Saves administrative time: doctors have more time with patients, nurses have more time for care-giving Alleviates staff and resource shortages

19. Projected Benefits Possible savings of $300 billion for the US health care bill

20. Concerns Are PDAs going to replace humans? Functional reliability Patient confidentiality – having PDA passwords and the national HIPAA privacy rule not enough

21. Human/Machine Balance To what extent will PDAs replace humans? Can they think for doctors? PDAs make diagnoses for doctors PDAs send information to bedside machines in hospitals – helps nurses PDAs replace secretaries and other administrative jobs

22. Further Thought : The Future of PDAs Patients discharged from hospitals record their progress on their PDA, enabling doctors to monitor them Paramedics could use PDAs to report situations from a disaster site and alert the hospital of patient conditions Travelers carry medical history on a PDA in case of an emergency abroad