Review
If you own a smartphone or a personal digital assistant (PDA) and you haven't read this book, I suggest you do so now. You are likely to discover a host of previously unknown applications for your device that will help you get substantially more out of your day. If you're not a PDA owner but have been toying with the idea of purchasing one, read this book before buying. In just a few short hours it will give you useful guidance as to what to look out for. The book is a quick, easy read, even for the uninitiated. Especially helpful are the clinical vignettes at the end of each chapter, which put things into perspective by giving examples of how clinicians may apply the chapter's information to improve workflow. (The names of the vignette characters belong to pioneers in medicine tribute is paid to these in the introduction an interesting juxtaposition of old and modern, I thought.) In addition, each chapter is backed by a brief online tutorial that shows the look and feel of the functions described in the book. Topics include specific clinical uses for basic PDA functions (for example, diary, address book, task list), recommendations on the use of additional software (both free and purchased), guidance on the optimal use of PDAs in a team setting to enhance communication and data sharing, the issues around security (with specific reference to the protection of patient data), management of medical references and research data, and more. For each topic, features particular to both the Palm and the Windows operating systems are demonstrated. The author, Mohammad Al-Ubaydli, is one of the world's leading experts on the clinical uses of mobile computing. The supplementary online video tutorials are presented by Chris Paton, director of New Media New Medicine and creator of some of the world's leading websites for clinical education. Together these men run the annual handheld computer workshop at the Royal Society of Medicine. With this book, they have combined their expertise and created a highly informative and effective text. To borrow from the book's foreword, PDAs "are one giant step towards fulfilling Einstein's vision" that "everything should be made simpler but not simple." Read this book and never look back. --BMJ - (British Medical Journal)
Product Description
PDAs (or Personal Digital Assistants for the uninitiated) are becoming an ever more useful tool in the life of a busy doctor. Not only can they be used to organise your life and deal with e-mails, you can now also purchase and download medical texts for use as a reference on ward rounds or during consultations. This handbook, written by two expert-user doctors, guides you through the technology, its features and what's available to buy or as a free download. It also explains how best to make use of your PDA in the medical context to ensure you maximise your professional efficiency and, perhaps more importantly, increase your free time. Mohammad Al-Ubaydli and Chris Paton hold annual workshops with the Royal Society of Medicine's Young Fellows committee, on the subject of PDAs in healthcare. Many of their findings in this book have been drawn from their experiences in these workshops. Chris Paton also runs dynamic online training courses, the perfect accompaniment to this title.
