PDAs – They’re Not Just Personal Digital Assistants Anymore

Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are no longer the cute, little devices that you use to keep track of appointments, contacts, and expenses, with a fuzzy grey and white screen and limited memory. PDAs, using the features explained below, are now handheld computers allowing the user to access data and provide the user with computer power at the touch of their fingers.

Features

Expanded Memory - The use of expansion cards has greatly enhanced the capabilities of PDAs. The ability to put programs or data on an expansion card or to purchase a program on a card has made the PDA a much more useful tool. The chance to exchange these cards allows the PDA to break away from the on-board RAM limitations and perform many more tasks. An example would be to take out the card for Steadman’s Medical Dictionary and put in the one for the Washington Manual of Therapeutics. This feature helps the user become more flexible.

Enhanced Graphics - The higher resolution screens now available to PDAs make for easier reading and better image viewing. With the development of RealPlayer for the Palm OS, audio and video is now available on the PDA.

Processing Power – More powerful and faster processors allow PDA users the ability to use databases, spreadsheets, and other programs on their devices.

Software

The two dominant operating systems for PDAs are the Palm OS developed by Palm, Inc. and the Pocket PC operating system developed by Microsoft. Most applications are developed for both operating systems but there are many developed just for one or the other. In the PDA world, the Palm OS is the leading operating system. This is especially true in the field of Medical Software.

Medical Software

Many types of medical software applications have been developed for both the Palm OS and the Pocket PC OS. A few of the categories they fall under are:

• Medical Calculators, including Evidence Based Medicine
• Patient Care
• Medical Office Management
• Medical Charting
• Patient Information Management
• Medical Records
• Medical Reference Books
• Medical Textbooks

There is also specialty-specific software available. Software is available for students, physicians, nurses, and many other health occupations.

Washington University Medical Palm Initiative

The WU Medical Palm Initiative was started several years ago by three medical students at the Washington University School of Medicine. They wanted a web site where physicians and medical students could find a list of PDA resources. They also wanted to start a community where PDA users could review and recommend hardware and software based on their experience. At the time, the Palm OS was the dominant system and the Pocket PC was just getting started. It was one of the first sites to offer this type of resource so many other universities linked to this site. Because student interest and involvement waxes and wanes, the Instructional Technologies staff of the Becker Library assumed responsibility for the site in 2004. The site now includes over 100 PDA resources in several categories.

There are resources for both the Palm and Pocket PC operating systems. The resources are divided into guides, vendors, and individual software titles. The lists are further divided by resources for Students, Physicians, and the General Public.

There are links to add feedback about the site and to review and recommend PDA resources. New resources are added to the site regularly from suggestions by users as well as library staff. There is a “What’s New” section for news about the Palm Initiative site.

The site aims to be a portal to medical PDA resources for physicians, medical students, and other health professionals. Visit the site at http://medicine.wustl.edu/~wumpi and share your experiences, insights and knowledge of PDA resources.