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Using PDAs during the internal medicine clerkship
J Gregory Rosencrance1, Michael J Schott, Barry T Linger
1Dept. of Internal Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Charleston Division, USA.
The West Virginia Medical Journal
|March 22, 2005
Summary
Medical students readily accepted Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) for accessing patient information and recording procedures. This technology shows promise for reducing medical errors and modernizing healthcare record-keeping.
Area of Science:
- Medical Informatics
- Health Professions Education
- Patient Safety
Background:
- Medical errors contribute to significant annual hospital deaths.
- Previous attempts to improve systems and practice patterns have been largely unsuccessful due to complexity and physician resistance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the value of providing patient information via Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) to medical students at the bedside.
- To assess student acceptance of PDAs for medical information access and procedure data capture.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 19 third-year medical students at West Virginia University School of Medicine.
- Utilized Palm M500 PDAs preloaded with medical applications, including Patient Keeper 2.3 for procedure logging.
- Students received 15 minutes of instruction and were required to input procedure data.
Main Results:
- Pre- and post-clerkship surveys indicated very wide acceptance of PDAs by medical students.
- Students found PDAs valuable for both inputting and accessing medical information.
Conclusions:
- Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are valuable tools for medical students, facilitating information access and data recording.
- Increasing affordability, power, and medical software availability will likely drive PDA adoption in hospitals.
- PDAs offer a promising avenue for reducing medical errors and enhancing medical record-keeping modernization.