Transcript Personal Digital Assistants: Revolutionizing Medical Care

Personal Digital Assistants:
Revolutionizing Medical Care
Lauren McKenna and Dallas Warren
ORF/PSY 322- H/M Interactions
May 5th, 2005
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
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
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
PDA characteristics
Small size
Easy operation
Large memory capacity
Versatile mobility
Internet capability for uploading and
downloading
Convenience
Who uses PDAs in the medical
sector?
Patients
Medical students
Pharmacists
Nurses
Doctors
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
Medical Students
Online textbooks
Access to drug information
Documentation of training - T-Res
Clinical rotation information - PEPID
Nurses
Reduce administrative time
Eliminate paperwork
Improve accuracy
Retrieve patient history
Record bed-side activity
Scheduling
Communication with medical team
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Current Benefits cont.
Saves administrative time: doctors
have more time with patients, nurses
have more time for care-giving
Alleviates staff and resource
shortages
Projected Benefits
Possible savings of $300 billion for
the US health care bill
Concerns
Are PDAs going to replace humans?
Functional reliability
Patient confidentiality – having PDA
passwords and the national HIPAA
privacy rule not enough
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
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