Mobile Computing Information
The UW School Of Medicine & Public Health recommends that students acquire a PDA
sometime during their second year. Many hospital residents and practicing physicians
now use PDAs on a routine basis as an important resource for class schedules, patient
care information and for data management and reference.
PDAs are used to learn about prescription writing, clinical procedures, and as a valuable
reference tool. First & second year student course schedules and group information are
downloadable to PDAs. Our goal is to promote medical education using leading edge
technology. If you have questions about purchasing a PDA, or what software is
available, please contact Adrian Gay at adriang@wisc.edu
Device Recommendations
The UW School Of Medicine & Public Health currently Only supports iPhone, iPod
Touch, & Palm® Operating System (OS) devices. However many of the medical
programs needed are available for other platforms such as Windows Mobile &
BlackBerry® devices. See chart below for device vs. software compatibility information.
Platform
Palm OS
Device
Memory
Memory
Internal
Expansion
Wi-Fi
Epocrates
Epocrates
Essential
Micromedex
Rx (Free)
Essentials
Evidence
Plus
(Thompsons
Clinical
Xpert)
E2
32MB (26MB)*
1GB SD,MMC
NO
YES
YES
YES
YES
TX
128MB (100MB)*
2GB SD,MMC
YES
(802.11b)
YES
YES
YES
YES
Treo 680
(64MB)*
4GB SD,MMC
TCP
YES
YES
YES
YES**
Treo 755p
128MB (60MB)*
4GB miniSD
TCP
YES
YES
YES
YES
Centro
(64MB)*
4GB microSD
TCP
YES
YES
YES
YES
Treo
700w|wx
128MB (60MB)*
SD,MMC,SDIO
TCP
YES
NO
YES
YES
Treo 750
128MB (43MB)*
4GB miniSD
TCP
YES
NO
YES
YES
Treo 800
256MB (170MB)*
8GB microSD
YES
(802.11b/g)
YES
NO
YES
YES
iPhone 3G
iPod
Touch
8 & 16 GB
YES
NO
NO
NO
YES
NO
NO
NO
YES
NO
NO
NO
YES
YES
YES
YES
Windows
Mobile
Mac OS
8, 16, & 32 GB
YES
(802.11b/g)
YES
(802.11b/g)
Blackberry
Online
Version
* = User Storage
Available
** = Device exhibits behavior that may render the experience to be less than desirable.
TCP = Through Cell Provider
iPhone, iPod Touch & Palm® Operating System Handhelds (currently available)
Models:
iPhone3G (8GB)
iPhone3G (16GB)
Status:
Acceptable level of functionality
Acceptable level of functionality
Price (Approx.)
$199*
$299*
iPod Touch (8GB)
iPod Touch (16GB)
iPod Touch (32GB)
Recommended (Mac) Model
Acceptable level of functionality
Acceptable level of functionality
$229
$299
$399
Tungsten™ E2 handheld
Minimum level of functionality.
$199
T|X handheld
Recommended (Palm) Model
$299
Palm® Smart Phones (currently available)
Treo™ 680
Treo™ 700p
Treo™ 755p
Palm® Centro
Acceptable level of functionality
Acceptable level of functionality
Acceptable level of functionality
Acceptable level of functionality
$149.99*
$399.99*
$249.99*
$399*
* Price dependant on wireless plan and provider
Any of the above devices have an acceptable level of functionality for use with the
software available to Medical students. The T|X handheld is recommended because of
the large amount of internal memory (128MB) and its ability to connect to the internet
through Wi-Fi. With the T|X handheld you will be able to store more programs, get
updates for software, such as Epocrates®, and download email though Wi-Fi.
Memory Card (Expansion)
We are also highly recommending purchasing a Memory Card with your device if it is a
Palm. (If you have an iPhone/iPod touch a memory card is not needed). Some of the
programs such as Essential Evidence Plus will not work without it. Also if you have a
device that only has 32MB internal memory you will need the memory card to use
Epocrates® Essentials. Another advantage to getting a memory card is the ability to use
your Palm® device to listen to MP3s (songs, audiobooks, lecture captures), view digital
media and photos.
We recommend a SD (Secure Digital) memory card of 512MB to 2GB in storage
capacity.
Note: MMC (MultiMedia Card) will work in several of the devices but that card type
seems to be phasing out.
Models:
Memory Card Type
Max. Size
Tungsten™ E2 handheld
T|X handheld
Treo™ 680
Treo™ 700p
SD , MMC
SD , MMC
SD , MMC
SD , MMC
1GB
2GB
4GB
2GB
Treo™ 755p
Palm® Centro
miniSD
microSD
4GB
4GB
Note: The miniSD and microSD cards have adapters that can be used
in regular sized SD expansion card slots.
Security Guidelines
1. In the interests of adhering to HIPAA rules, if you use your PDA to keep track of
patient information you are expected to password protect your device. Password
protection can be accessed through the preferences icon on your Palm®.
2. Password protection should always be active and set for 5 minutes or less. Your PDA
should be set to turn off automatically within three minutes or less.
3. Synchronization of sensitive PDA Information with home computers. Please be
cognizant when synchronizing patient and staff-related data on home computers.
4. Home Cable, DSL, and/or LAN users should have a Firewall security protection
installed on their home computers.
5. Home computer users who have sensitive data on their PDAs are responsible for
ensuring that the data is secure. Transfer of a home computer or PDA to another person
necessitates erasing of all patient and staff-related data.
Recommended Software
Below is a list of software, some of it will be an important part of your clinical years and
used frequently, others will be reference, calculators, schedules, etc.
Epocrates® Rx (Free Version)
Free mobile drug and formulary reference.
Epocrates® Essentials (Subscription available to Medical Students) *
Integrated drug, disease, and diagnostic suite for mobile devices.
Epocrates® Medical Dictionary (Subscription available to Medical Students) *
Mobile guide to over 100,000 medical terms.
* As part of our on-going PDA Initiative and as a result of our participation in the
Epocrates® University Consortium, the UW School Of Medicine & Public Health has
arranged for all medical students to get new one year subscription or extension to
Epocrates® Essentials and Epocrates® Medical Dictionary.
Essential Evidence Plus (Subscription available to Health Science Students) **
A powerful electronic resource packed with all of the medical evidence you need to make
critical patient care decisions.
Essential Evidence Plus features must-have content, tools, calculators, and daily email
alerts for clinicians who deliver first-contact care.
MicroMedex – Thomson Clinical Xpert
(Subscription available to Health Science Students) **
Evidence based decision support for your PDA.
* disease information
* laboratory test information
* drugs
* interactions
* alternative medicine
* toxicology
* news & alerts
* and convenient calculators
** Provided to Health Sciences students by Ebling Library, UW School Of Medicine & Public Health, and
the UW Dept. Of Family Medicine.
Miscellaneous Palm & iPhone/iPod Touch Freeware
Below is a list of Free Palm® based medical software. These are not required although
you may find them useful as reference tools.
ABG
Three calculators include. 1) Analyse arterial blood gasses 2) Output a recommended
FIO2, given a determined pO2, FIO2 and a desired pO2 3) Perform hemodynamic
calculations utilizing the Fick principle.
ABG Pro
Arterial Blood Gases Pro is a program that will completely analyze arterial blood gases.
Breastfeed
Breastfeed is an informational reference on multiple aspects of breastfeeding from
Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition.
Cardio Calc
Helpful tool to manage patients with cardiovascular disease or hyperlipidemia.
Diagnosaurus
McGraw-Hill's Diagnosaurus 2.0, the FREE medical PDA software, is completely
updated for the new age in healthcare and used by tens of thousands of students,
physicians, and health professionals.
Eponyms
Eponyms is a short description of 1,600 common and obscure medical eponyms (e.g.,
Rovsing's sign, Virchow's node) with descriptions.
Eponyms (for students)
Eponyms is a short description of 1,600 common and obscure medical eponyms (e.g.,
Rovsing's sign, Virchow's node) with descriptions.
HeartBeat
With this program you can measure your heart rate.
HeartBeat
With this program you can measure your heart rate.
Herbal Zone
Decision support for widely used herbs.
Med Calc
Med Calc is a medical calculator running on Palm® Powered™ handheld devices. It is
designed for rapid calculation of common equations used in clinical medicine (including
anesthesiology, pediatrics, emergency, intensive care and internal medicine).
MedCalc
A free medical calculator, that gives you easy access to complicated medical formulas
and scores.
Med Rules
MedRules is an award-winning application featuring useful clinical prediction rules taken
from the medical literature.
Medical Mnemonics
A searchable database of medical mnemonics designed to assist students in remembering
medical information.
PalmEKG™
PalmEKG is an Arrhythmia Field Guide for Your Palm Computer.
Pregnancy Kick Counter
Track your baby’s kicking activity
PregWheel
PregWheel is a simple medical utility program for use in obstetrics.
PSI
Pneumonia Severity Index Calculator: An interactive tool for the Pneumonia Severity
Index from the Assessment of the Variation and Outcomes of Pneumonia
Shots 2007-08
Shots 2007 is a quick reference guide to the Childhood Immunization Schedule, a
collaboration of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Family
Physicians (AAFP), and the 2007-2008 Adult Immunization Schedule, recommended by
the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Details on each vaccine are
available by clicking on the vaccine names.
Skyscape
Free Resources 1) RxDrugs – drug dosing info w/calcs 2) Outlines in Clinical Med. –
evidence based disease and symptom info 3) Archimedes – medical calculator &
decision tool. 4) MedAlert – keep up to date on drugs, summaries, trials & more.
Also available are Pay Apps through Skyscape (Ex.: Harrison’s Manual Of Medicine,
Stedmans’s Medical Dictionary, Johns Hopkins Antibiotic Guide, 5 Min.- Emergency
Medical Consult, etc…)
WebMD Mobile
Features a symptom checker, drug & treatment info, and a first aid section.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pay Apps
(Prices listed are approx. and may change overtime)
Breastfeeding ($0.99)
For nursing mothers, serves to remember from which breast the baby as latter drank.
DoctorCalc
Medical apps for iPod Touch/iPhone
Medical iPhone
Medical Apps. For iPhone/iPod touch
Modality Apps
(Board Review Flash Cards, Recalls, Netter’s, Zollinger’s, USMLE, and more)
PubSearch ($.99) & PubSearch Plus ($4.99)
A simple, efficient user interface with fast access to the PubMed database
http://www.deathraypizza.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Links
Collective Med
The premier source for medical PDA software on the Internet.
Select from hundreds of Palm® and Windows Mobile medical software titles.
MedsPDA
Providing a convenient, and comprehensive single resource for the busy mobile medical
professional.
PDA MediSoft
Medical and health software downloads for Palm®, Symbian, Windows Mobile (Pocket
PC), (Smartphones) and BlackBerry® (RIM).
Software Advice (Medical)
Medical Software Advice is a free online resource that helps physicians find PDA
software for their practices.
WiscVPN
Installation & trouble shooting. Running this VPN client will allow you to access
resources as if on a UW Madison internet connection.