Epocrates Rx software for iPhone is now available for download for FREE!
Epocrates Rx allows for instant access to drug Information, pill ID,
drug Interactions and reference formulary Information - all without the
need for Internet connectivity!

This launch is due in large part to the overwhelming demand and passion
of Epocrates users like your readers! We sincerely thank your coverage
for driving Apple’s decision to support our development and even feature
Epocrates in the App store for the Health & Fitness category!

We designed our software specifically for the sleek and user-friendly
interface of the iPhone platform taking advantage of the innovative
interface and computing power. Be one of the first to see it at
http://www.epocrates.com/products/rx/iphone.html.

The iPhone should really have been 3G from day one. The entire strategy evolved around the use of the browser for 3rd parties (like ePocrates) to develop apps. But the GPRS and EDGE networks are too slow to run Web 2.0 style apps in the browser, hence the outcry and demand for the Apple SDK.

The release of the SDK and the lack of iPhone apps could have been avoided if the iPhone was 3G from day one. Perhaps time was a factor getting everything sorted for 3G from the get go. Perhaps they thought the phone networks didn’t have enought 3G coverage at the time of the official iPhone launch - do they now?

With a 3G iPhone - will you still want a non-browser version of ePocrates? Do cell phone bans mean that you sill want a non-browser version? Or is it really all about speed…

We’re excited to let you know that Epocrates, Inc. was one of only five
companies, including Salesforce.com, AOL, EA and Sega, to be highlighted by
Steve Jobs during the iPhone Software Roadmap media briefing. Epocrates has
already begun working directly with Apple to create a downloadable version of
its clinical products that can be downloaded directly to the iPhone or iPod
Touch.

In the meantime, you can view epocrates on the iPhone Safari browser by pointing it at m.epocrates.com.

View the entire Apple SDK Event: http://stream.qtv.apple.com/events/mar/rtp20e92/m_08770365506i_350_ref.mov

Don’t worry about that guy about to operate on your gallbladder. He trained on the Wii.

According to a very small, very preliminary study, playing certain video games on the Nintendo Wii helps surgical residents to hone their fine motor skills and improve their performance on a serious surgery simulator.

OK, so a simple video game helps these docs with a slightly more complicated one. But bear with us here because the more sophisticated simulator is the sort of thing that’s used right now to help doctors do a better job on keyhole surgery using tiny instruments outfitted with video cameras.

Improvements in simulator performance didn’t come from just any Wii (see image), or any game. Marble Mania is good, for example. Tennis (astonishingly fun to play on the Wii, which uses a motion-sensitive wireless control) isn’t so helpful. “The key is to have subtle hand movements,” Kanav Kahol one of the authors of the study, told the Health Blog. “You can’t hit a tennis swing and expect to become a better surgeon. You need fine motor control.”

Kahol, a biomedical informatics expert affiliated with Arizona State and a hospital chain called Banner Health, worked with Marshall Smith, a Banner surgeon, to see if playing the Wii (Wii-ing?) improved residents’ scores on a standard simulator for minimally invasive, or laparoscopic, surgery.

From the Wall Street Journal Health Blog.

Jeff also has a major interest in Brain Science and has formed a new company Numenta, to develop artificial intelligence technology.

More videos after the break:

We’ve set up a new Health Informatics Discussion Forum. Sections include Evidence Based Medicine, Electronic Health Records, Decision Support Sytems, Standards, Careers, Education and more.

Video Reviews:

If you don’t know about the kindle yet, watch this film:

More Reviews:

Crunch Gear: http://www.crunchgear.com/2007/11/19/mini-review-of-the-amazon-kindle/
Boing Boing: http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2007/11/19/amazon-kindle-ebook-1.html

I’ll update this post as more reviews come in.

From a medical perspective, this device has many of the advantages of the old Palm Pilots: long battery life, very each to use and most importantly (in my opinion) it doesn’t require a desktop computer. This means you could load it up with medical texts from amazon and not even need to ever sync with your PC.

More info on this device at Amazon.com