Survey assessment of personal digital assistant use among trainees and attending physicians

Limited information is available on personal digital assistant (PDA) use patterns in medical settings. Recognizing that use patterns may be important considerations for development of handheld-based information systems, the authors characterized PDA use at their institution. A survey was mailed to all internal medicine physicians at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, in May 2002. PDA use prevalence, user demographics, hardware preferences, and work setting and application use frequencies were assessed for respondents reporting current PDA use. Use patterns of trainees (residents and subspecialty fellows) and attending physicians were compared. Trainees reported more frequent PDA use in the hospital setting and for direct patient care. Attending physicians reported more frequent PDA use in administrative settings and for calendar functions. These findings may reflect differences in the information needs and work roles of learners and experienced physicians. Such factors may be important considerations for the development and implementation of institutional PDA resources.