Home > Resources by Subject > Education, Teaching, and Publication > Mobile Devices in Health Care: Smartphones and PDAs

Mobile Devices in Health Care: Smartphones and PDAs

Getting Started

The 1990s saw the birth of the handheld computing device. These were generally known as PDAs or Personal Digital Assistants. They began primarily as organizers for appointments, telephone numbers and short notes. More recently Smartphones have begun to support many of the functions of PDAs with the addition of telephone service, email, and web browsing. There are Blackberry operating system-based Smartphones, Palm operating system-based (Palm OS) PDAs and Smartphones, the iPhone and Microsoft-based Pocket PCs (Windows Mobile) made by HP, Dell and others. The result is a much wider variety of devices to choose from requiring more research on the part of the consumer. Smartphones with PDA functions tend to be more expensive than PDAs. See the Reviews and Comparisons page for information on selecting hardware and software. Many websites offer overviews of the world of handheld computing and tutorials on getting started with your machine. Several useful ones are listed below.

Guide to Handheld and Palmtop Computing Resources for Health Care Professionals: Online textbook. Can be downloaded or purchased in hard copy for a fee.
pdaMD.com: In the Learning Center on this site are many tutorials on a variety of tasks associated with selecting, owning and using a handheld computer.
Pediatrics on Hand: Site professes to keep the most up-to-date collection of pediatric specific programs and files for the Palm based handheld. Provides reviews of products and links to sites for purchase. Includes resources for parents.
Smartphones (Mahalo): Provides an introduction to and brief history of smartphones.

Downloads at MUSC

The materials on this page are freely available for download to handheld computing devices. The items with the MUSC only icon are subscription items which the MUSC Library purchases and makes available to faculty, staff and students. The other items are made available by various organizations and agencies. Most are from government agencies or created with government funds.

AccessMedicine: Downloads require personal registration. Choose "My saved images, PDA downloads" from the top of the screen. Downloads available for Palm OS or PocketPC PDAs and Windows OS computers.
AIDSinfo's PDA Tools: Aids related federally-approved medical guidelines for Pocket PC, Palm PDAs
CDC-Social Media Tools for Consumers and Partners-Mobile Information (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
CHORUS to go!: CHORUS (Collaborative Hypertext of Radiology) is a quick reference hypertext for physicians and medical students containing more than 1,100 documents. Choose CHORUS on your PDA.
Diagnosaurus 2.0 DDx PDA Tool (McGraw Hill): Free PDA tool which includes over 1000 differential diagnoses. Supports Palm, Windows Mobile devices, Blackberry Pearl, Curve, or 8800,IPhone, IPod Touch
DoctorCalc: Medical Apps for the iPhone and iPod touch
Dynamed on PDA Devices: Choose "Available in PDA" from the top right side of the screen. Supports Palms, Pocket PC, Windows Smartphone, Blackberry, iPhone, iPod Touch. You need a Dynamed serial number to access these resources. Instructions for obtaining a serial number are on the "Available in PDA" page or contact Reference at 792-2372.
Electronic Preventive Services Selector (ePSS) (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality): U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations designed for use on mobile devices. Blackberry, Web, Iphone, PalmOS, & Windows Mobile
ePOCRATES Rx: Free comprehensive drug reference. Available for Palm, Windows Mobile, iPhone, Blackberry and WinSmartphone.
FreewarePalm: Free software for your handheld. Choose "medical" from the Category list on the left side of the screen for medically related software.
Google Mobile: Free Google products for your smartphone.
Handheld computer resources in the NCBI Bookshelf: Requires the MobiPocket Reader; download for free. The software works on Palm Powered devices, Pocket PCs, Symbian phones and PCs.
Medical Calculators for the Blackberry and iphone (QxMD)
MicroMedex: Healthcare Series: Click the Handheld PDA tab at the top of the screen. Compatible with both Palm OS® and Pocket PC's
Mobile MerckMedicus: Provides clinical decision making tools. Information comes from the Merck Manual, the Pocket Guide to Diagnostic Tests, Reuters Medical News and MEDLINE journal abstracts. Compatible with Palm OS 5 and Windows Mobile(all platforms.) Supports wireless access via iPhone, BlackBerry, PDA, or Smartphone.
PubMed for Handhelds: PDA Users can search PubMed via this URL.
Radiation Event Medical Management for a mobile device (U.S. Department of Health & Human Resourses; Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness & Response; National Library of Medicine): Choose either Quick Links or About this site for information about downloading REMM to your mobile device or computer.
Shots 2009: This quick reference guide to the 2009 Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedules is 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 2008-2009 Adult Immunization Schedule, recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
WebWISER: Choose Download from the middle of the page. WISER is available as a standalone application on Windows Mobile devices, Palm OS PDAs, and Microsoft Windows PCs. When an internet connection is available , WebWISER includes support for PDA browsers, including BlackBerry, Pocket PC, Palm, iPhone, and many other phones.

Medical Software and Suppliers

The sites included here list selected medical software and applications available for handhelds. It is a very small selection compared to the hundreds of products available. The resources encompass freeware, shareware and commercial products. Specific titles and suppliers of multiple resources are available. Some content is available for download from the MUSC Library.

General Hardware and Software Sources

Where can you get a handheld computer or smartphone these days? You will see them in electronics stores like Best Buy, as well as office supply stores like Office Depot, Office Max and Staples. Even Kmart and Target have them now. Below are a few Web sites from which you can order devices, often more up-to-date models at better prices.

Franklin Electronic Publishers: A source for hardware and software for handhelds.
FreewarePalm: Free software for your handheld. Choose "medical" from the Category list on the left side of the screen for medically related software.
Handango: A source for handheld software; arranged by operating system.
Handera
Intellisync Handheld Edition: Software allows synchronization between your PC and your Palm OS® or Windows Mobile device.
MemoWare: E-books for the PDA
Palm: Home page for the Palm company,provides Palm OS handhelds, software and accessories
Palm Boulevard: Provides links to software, hardware, message boards. Online ordering. Includes reviews, news, how-to's
Palm Store: Purchase Palm brand hardware & software
PalmGear.com
PDAStreet.com: Source for hardware, software, reviews. Includes all operating systems.
PocketGear.com: Distribution site for hardware and software for Windows Mobile™ from various developers.
Software Archives: Includes software for multiple platforms including handhelds.
Tucows: Over 30,000 software programs and reviews. Not limited to PDAs; all topics
VersionTracker
Windows Mobile: Offers software, hardware, news and events
ZDNet: Provides information & reviews about all types of computers, peripherals and accessories. Includes extensive information about handhelds. Also provides reviews.

Reviews and Comparisons

Which handheld device is right for you? What are the most important features? Reviews and comparisons can help you decide. Don't forget to search the professional literature as well as see what your colleagues are choosing.

c|net Reviews: Reviews on every sort of consumer electronics.
Gadget Live: Includes reviews, chat, forum, help, how-tos & news
Gadgeteer: Provides reviews of electronic and digital gadgets. Includes handhelds and accessories.
Medical Software Advice
MobileTechReview
PCMagazine
PDA Cortex Store: Includes reviews
Smart Phone & Pocket PC Magazine
Tucows: Over 30,000 software programs and reviews. Not limited to PDAs; all topics
ZDNet: Provides information & reviews about all types of computers, peripherals and accessories. Includes extensive information about handhelds. Also provides reviews.

Educational Sites

Medical libraries, medical schools, as well as groups and individuals, are sharing information on how they are using PDAs in health care. Here are some selected sites that can help you learn how your colleagues in other medical schools are using PDAs and other mobile technologies.

FPpda.com: by a family practice resident; includes comparisons, download links,tutorials,links to useful programs, and self-developed programs
Guide to Smart Phones and PDAs (VCU School of Medicine): Provides links to various useful sites.
Palm/Internet and Miscellany for Baylor College of Medicine Residents: Short introduction to using a palm device by an individual. Includes links to other sites.
PDA Resources (Lyman Maynard Stowe Library at the University of Connecticut Health Center): from the Lyman Maynard Stowe Library at the University of Connecticut Health Center
PDA Resources in Medicine (University of California's Grunigen Medical Library at Irvine)
Pda4peds.com: Contains information about a variety of materials related to pediatrics for handhelds
PDAs in Family Medicine Practice (University of Rochester Medical Center, Department of Family Medicine): Pull down the Program Details tab. Select Personal Digital Assistants. Shares experiences with PDA use in their department. Good overview.
Pediatrics on Hand: Site professes to keep the most up-to-date collection of pediatric specific programs and files for the Palm based handheld. Provides reviews of products and links to sites for purchase. Includes resources for parents.
Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) Resources (Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries): From the Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries, a selected list of links for handheld devices.
Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) (College of Nursing University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center): Guide to PDAs from the College of Nursing University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
Recommendations for Handheld Hardware and Software (Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine): This site's primary goal is to provide up-to-date recommendations for the use of handhelds in medical education.
Washington University Medical Palm Initiative: Provides links to useful websites relating to handheld devices and resources