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Results for “Computers, Handheld”

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At least 469 records · Page 26Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

PDA-assisted low glycemic index dietary intervention for type II diabetes: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological and dietary intervention studies suggest that a low-glycemic index (GI) diet is beneficial for blood glucose control; however, long-term clinical utility of the low GI diet has not been fully investigated. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of a nutritionist-delivered low-GI dietary intervention, with the support of a personal digital assistant (PDA), for adult patients with poorly controlled type II diabetes. METHOD: The low-GI intervention consisted of six counseling sessions and the use of a PDA-based food database with GI scores for 6 months. Study outcomes included feasibility measures, glycosylated hemoglobin levels (HbA1c), GI and glycemic load (GL) score of self-reported dietary intake, body weight, depression and quality of life (QOL). Measures were obtained at baseline, 3 and 6 months. RESULTS: Of 31 adult patients approached, 15 met study eligibility criteria and were enrolled in the study. Thirteen patients (87%) completed all study assessments. Findings included decreases in average HbA1c (-0.5% P = 0.02), body weight, hip circumference, blood pressure, dietary GI and daily caloric intake. Diabetes impact scores also decreased. All but one participant completed all components of the intervention. There were mixed reports regarding the usefulness of the PDAs; however, participants offered helpful suggestions for further development. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this pilot study support the feasibility of implementing a nutritionist-delivered, PDA-assisted low-GI dietary intervention for patients with poorly controlled type II diabetes. Encouraging initial efficacy data require further testing in the context of a randomized clinical trial.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Reduction of medical error at the point-of-care using electronic clinical information delivery.

There is accumulating evidence that point-of-care delivery of clinical information such as evidence-based medicine, practice guidelines and drug information can streamline clinical practice and reduce preventable errors. In Australia, hospital-based physicians have -generally been slow to fully use these resources to enhance their clinical practice. Here we provide an introduction to the practical application of several hand-held and electronic information systems available to Australian physicians.

Computers, Handheld↗
PubMed2003

Barcode technology: its role in increasing the safety of blood transfusion.

BACKGROUND: Incorrect blood component transfusion is the most frequent serious incident associated with transfusion. Errors responsible for these incidents frequently involve patient misidentification. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: This study evaluated a barcode patient identification system involving hand-held computers for blood sample collection for compatibility testing and the administration of blood. Audit of practice was carried out before and after its introduction. RESULTS: The baseline audit revealed poor practice, particularly in patient identification. Significant improvements were found in the procedure for the administration of blood following the introduction of barcode patient identification, including an improvement from 11.8 to 100 percent in the correct verbal identification of patients (p </= 0.001). Similar significant improvements were found in matching verbally stated identification details with details on patient identification wristbands, in correct patient identification before the collection of blood samples, and in the proportion of correctly labeled samples. Staff found the barcode identification system easy to operate and preferred it to standard procedures. CONCLUSIONS: A barcode patient identification system was found to simplify the clinical transfusion process and improve practice. These results provide support for further work on the development of such systems for transfusion and for other hospital procedures requiring patient identification.

Blood Transfusion↗
PubMed2002

Practical applications of hand-held computers in dermatology.

For physicians, hand-held computers are gaining popularity as point of care reference tools. The convergence of hand-held computers, the Internet, and wireless networks will enable these devices to assume more essential roles as mobile transmitters and receivers of digital medical Information. In addition to serving as portable medical reference sources, these devices can be Internet-enabled, allowing them to communicate over wireless wide and local area networks. With enhanced wireless connectivity, hand-held computers can be used at the point of patient care for charge capture, electronic prescribing, laboratory test ordering, laboratory result retrieval, web access, e-mail communication, and other clinical and administrative tasks. Physicians In virtually every medical specialty have begun using these devices in various ways. This review of hand-held computer use in dermatology illustrates practical examples of the many different ways hand-held computers can be effectively used by the practicing dermatologist.

Computers, Handheld↗
PubMed2004

[Digital knowledge in the coat pocket -- hand-held personal digital assistants in radiology].

The personal digital assistant (PDA) enables the independent access to large data in a pocket-sized format. The applications for hand-held computers are growing steadily and can support almost any kind of problem. An overview of the available hardware and software is provided and evaluated. Furthermore, the use of the PDA in the clinical daily routine is described. In view of the numerous software programs available in radiology, the range of software solutions for radiologists is presented. Despite the high acquisition cost, the PDA has already become the digital assistant for the radiologist. After a short time of getting used to the PDA, nobody wants to miss it at work or at home. New technical features and available software programs will continuously increase the integration of the PDA into the medical workflow in the near future.

Computers↗
PubMed2006

Utilization of personal digital assistants (PDA) for intraoperative naming tasks in awake surgery.

The naming task, one of the most important tasks for screening essential language function, is widely used in awake surgery. We employed personal digital assistants (PDA) for the display of objects in three patients performing the naming task during awake surgery for gliomas adjacent to the language area in the left hemisphere. The compact, light-weight, self-illuminated instrument can easily be held close to the patient's face. None had difficulty seeing the screen despite the presence of the surgical drape around the face. The examiner could easily change the displayed objects with a click. However, the PDA screen is too small for use in auditory comprehension tasks such as the Token Test.

Brain Mapping↗
PubMed2005

Using portable digital technology for clinical care and critical incidents: a new model.

The number of patients suffering adverse incidents during treatment in hospitals is not declining. The cost of this poor safety record in Australia is 1 billion dollars to 4.7 billion dollars each year. Quality and safety initiatives focus on promoting adverse event reporting. Major problems include poor reporting of adverse events and lack of clinician involvement. We propose a model for clinician-led reporting based on secure transmission of encrypted data from a programmed personal digital assistant (PDA) to a secure database, leading to automated analysis of clinician-performance data. The programmed PDA also facilitates the reporting of critical incidents. All critical incidents are automatically fed back by email to the organisational quality managers.

Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Systems↗
PubMed2005

Editorial.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Computers, Handheld↗
PubMed2002

Use of personal digital assistants to enhance educational evaluation in a primary care clerkship.

Experiences of students using optically scanned cards were compared with those of students using personal digital assistants (PDAs) to log patient encounters in a primary care clerkship. From April to September 2001, students were offered the option of using a PDA in lieu of scanned cards to track clinical encounters. Data obtained from PDA users were compared with those previously obtained from scanned card users. Verbal and written feedback was obtained from all students. Of the 71 students invited to participate, 21 (30%) owned a PDA, and of these, 20 agreed to participate. Eighteen students completed the pilot. One student was unable to participate owing to software installation problems; another student lost data because of improper back-up. Students using the PDAs recorded more encounters per rotation and had fewer missing data when compared with students who used scanned card. Additionally, feedback from students suggested that PDAs offered other important educational benefits.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

A PDA-based instructional tool to monitor students' cardiac auscultation during a medicine clerkship.

Cardiac auscultation is an important skill for medical students to master but students' exposure to cardiac auscultation is often unmonitored. The objective of this study was to gather data at the point of care about students' cardiac auscultation experience on a required medicine rotation using a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) 'murmur form'. During an eight-month period, 120 M3 students used the authors' PDA-based learning tool to record information on 940 heart sounds and murmurs. Some 93% of all heart sounds/murmurs reported by students were verified by either a faculty member (56%) or a supervising resident (43%). A PDA can be a useful tool to monitor students' experiences of cardiac auscultation and to track direct observation of such skills by faculty or residents. Medical students are eager to use technology at the point of care to practice their clinical skills.

Clinical Clerkship↗
PubMed2006

The use of personal digital assistants among medical residents.

The purpose of this study was to determine residents' perception of the utility of personal digital assistants (PDAs) and their influence on clinical practice at two teaching hospitals, one of which subsidized resident purchase of a PDA. A total of 21 residents in the unsubsidized group (32%) and 24 residents in the subsidized group (96%) owned a PDA. Medical residents who were provided with PDAs perceived them to be less useful than residents who were not provided with them. Palm owners in both groups responded that they used these devices to organize their record keeping and the most frequently used programs were pharmacopoeias, medical reference and clinical calculators. Residents quickly adapted PDA to clinical care and further research is needed to assess their impact on resident education and patient outcomes.

Attitude to Computers↗
PubMed2006

A manageable approach to integrating personal digital assistants into a family medicine clerkship.

Personal digital assistants (PDAs) were incorporated into the six-week Family Medicine Clerkship in 2002 to achieve two major goals: tracking students' outpatient encounters at preceptor sites and providing opportunities to use PDAs during medical visits. Each student collects information on each patient seen. Data are then retrieved and presented to students individually and as a group twice during the rotation. Each PDA also contains several clinical resources that students use during both small group didactic sessions and real clinical encounters. These results are based on data collected from 85 students who completed the clerkship over the course of one year who recorded information on demographics, presenting problems, procedures, and type of precepting for a total of 11,146 patient encounters. The cumulative results have allowed clerkship faculty and administrators to set standard expectations of individual students and preceptors with respect to numbers of patients seen and type of precepting received. This PDA project is manageable in terms of costs as well as effort on the part of both students and faculty and has numerous benefits to the clerkship, one of which is the ability to provide real-time feedback to clerkship students and thus promote adult learning skills.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Implementing information technology in a behavioral health setting.

The art and practice of nursing in today's health care arena is becoming increasingly complex. One of the newest challenges in the field of behavioral health is the integration of quality health care with information technology. The authors of this paper examine four emerging aspects of information technology: the electronic medical record, automated medication distribution systems, computerized charting, and hand-held computers. The benefits, costs, uses of these technologies, and the potential problems they can provide in the field of behavioral health are discussed. Implications for nursing practice also are explored.

Behavioral Medicine↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Patterns of urges during early abstinence in alcohol-dependent subjects.

Urges for alcohol can lead to relapse, but some alcoholics report few urges. We hypothesized that ecological momentary assessment techniques would reveal multiple urge patterns in newly-abstinent alcoholics. Forty-eight alcohol-dependent subjects used PDAs to assess urges to drink in abstinence. Mean and standard deviation of urges were used in cluster analysis, and cluster characteristics were compared. Four clusters were defined, the largest cluster including 29 subjects with low mean urge and low variability. Clusters differed in negative affect and anger but not in abstinence rates. Four distinct urge patterns during abstinence were identified, and 60% of abstinent, alcohol-dependent subjects reported low, stable urge levels.

Adult↗