Using a US$120.000 studio, the Project creates videos and audio presentations with testimonials from patients, common questions answered by real doctors, tips about exercise, diet and everything else they need before and after the surgery. The iPods, $299 apiece (street price) where provided by Apple under a health system's 10% discount.

source: The Journal Gazette

Full electronic records are not only cheaper, but far more reliable and fast. Think no more overnight delivery of piles of dust-covered folders or those always-misplaced dental x-rays.

Source: Ars Technica 

From the press release: With a wireless PC, handheld device or smartphone, clinicians get instant access to patient data-rounding notes, lab results, x-rays, CT scans, even real-time waveforms and vitals stats from bedside monitoring devices.

Global Care Quest line of mobile solutions are vendor-independent, interfacing with a broad range of hospital systems. Using wireless internet access, it doesn't matter if you leave the hospital, as long as there is an Internet connection, the data keeps flowing. For PocketPCs running Windows Mobile 2003 or better. WIFI or EVDO needed for real time access.

Pros:
- Very portable and light
- Touchscreen should work just like a Tablet PC
- Will run most desktop applications
- Great connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi.

Cons:
- Short battery life (3h ?)
- Price (around US$500-1000 ?)
- Will not fit in anyone's pocket

For doctors, it all depends on how the professional works. If it is mostly standing, rounding, having to carry it around and open it all the time, this might be too bulky. A PDA should be enough. But for a office-based doctor, who has to be in several meetings, clinics and such, I think it is a great addition. It is enough to use the Internet, Office applications, keep track of patients, in such a way that it does not get in the way. I am really interested in this device (or groups of devices), it should be announced next week.

* Open URL with auto-complete
* Zoom * Download
* Multiple Windows
* Navigation and history
* Bookmarks
* Landscape/Portrait Mode
* Full screen/ Fit to screen
* Pop-up handler
* Pad-lock icon on secure sites
* User preferences
* Context menu

So, I'll definitely get it. Anything is better than Pocket IE.

CNET's bottom line: Although far from perfect, the Sprint PPC-6700 is definitely smarter than most smart phones and almost good enough to earn the title of Treo killer.

Link: CNET review

Here is the link to ActiveSync 4.1. 

But all that has a price. Think heat. Think more power consumption. I am not sure companies should just increase the number of cycles a CPU can perform. Look at the Pentium 4s. A Pentium M at a much lower frequency can be equivalent in terms of performance. Certainly Intel learned a lot from this, and they are now focusing on building smarter CPUs. More Mhz is not always more.

Now, what would an updated Treo 650 have ? From what I hear one concern has been some hardware problems, which appear to have resolved. Maybe it was a problem with manufacturing. The second area would be RAM. 32 Mb is really not enough even for light-users. 64 MB would be ok, but with the price of memory being so low, why not jam 128 Mb right away ? Other excelent features would be EV-DO and a higher resolution screen, but I am thinking this may be too much for just a simple refresh. 

For my PDA I am very happy with 64Mb, as I don't use any large database or application. It just seems that manufacturers should be working on other features instead of playing this game of numbers. We still need more mobility and connectivity. We also need smaller and more long-lasting batteries.  

One of these initiatives is the new web browser for Symbian 60 series. This browser is a pretty advanced product, based on Apple's Safari Web Kit. It seems that this is a really good browser with many features that make it possible to use Web 2.0 websites that use AJAX, for example. 

I am impressed with this initiative by Nokia. They understand that there is a huge community that wants to embrace a technology and further develop it with the help of a community. 

So we are coming to the next era. Sure, many companies are exploring the sale of music and videos, but for professionals the money is in email. I want to have Blackberry-like functions on my cell phone, without the hefty monthly fee that comes with Blackberry service. 

Truecrypt is an open-source solution that encrypts any file volumes, including removable flash drives. I had it also set up to mount the volume automatically once the flash drive is inserted. There are several different encryption algorythms, and it seems to work very well.

If you are looking for something to safeguard your files, Truecrypt is a good option.

UCLA Coolness!

UCLA Medical Center Shreds Hospital Paper Chase With Mobile, Wireless Access to Comprehensive Patient Data

Date: Oct 17, 2005
Contact: Phone:

UCLA Medical Center is piloting a mobile, wireless patient information retrieval system that gives physicians instant access from throughout the hospital and around the world to real-time patient data via wireless Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and cellular smart phones. The Global Care Quest system, or GCQ, is intended to improve access to patient data, save health care workers time, trim the cost of care and tighten patient safety standards.

At UCLA, GCQ integrates with digital medical records, bedside charting and laboratory results, to create the most comprehensive digital medical data storage and retrieval system of its kind. This state-of-the-art software solution advances existing technology by offering - for the first time - PDA and cellular smart phone access to real-time data from bedside ICU monitors, as well as X-ray and CT/MRI scan imaging studies. Physicians can access medical data throughout the medical center via the hospital's wireless network (Wi-Fi or 802.11b), and remotely, outside the hospital, through high-speed cellular network connections (1xRTT, EV-DO, EDGE).

"With functions far beyond pagers and voice-only cell phones, this represents the next generation of wireless medical communication. In the future, we see every physician carrying a personal wireless information device that provides real-time access to complete patient data. These tools hold the promise to improve the quality and safety of patient care, avoid medical errors, and enhance cost-effectiveness. By using GCQ to automate routine and cumbersome paperwork, physicians and other healthcare workers will save time so that they can concentrate on taking care of patients," said Dr. Neil Martin, professor and chief of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and co-developer of the GCQ system.

"I see this technology as evolving into a seamless integration of information technology and increasing volumes of patient data. Some day patients themselves will be able to access their own records and share them with their different healthcare providers," said Dr. Albin Gritsch, associate professor of urology and surgical director of the kidney transplant program at UCLA.

"As intensivists, we need to deliver right care, right away," said Dr. Paul Vespa, associate clinical professor and director of neurocritical care at UCLA. "Given the shortage of intensivists, technologies such as GCQ are invaluable in extending the reach of our care by allowing us to respond instantly to emergencies from any location 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

The GCQ system integrates with hospital and clinical information systems through wireless networks accessible on both Palm OS and Pocket PC (Windows Mobile) devices, as well as standard MS Windows-based desktop and Tablet computers. Patient privacy is protected through use of authentication codes and data encryption that meets standards set by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

Researchers in the UCLA Division of Neurosurgery's Brain Monitoring and Modeling Lab developed the GCQ system under the direction of Valeriy Nenov, professor of neurosurgery, and Farzad Buxey, senior software developer.

Global Care Quest Inc. is a privately held medical software company based in Los Angeles that has recently been funded by Lexington Ventures. As inventors and developers of this technology, Martin, Nenov and Buxey are founders and equity holders in the firm. The company has plans to commercialize the technology through a license agreement with UCLA. More information is available online at http://www.gcqhealth.com.

UCLA Medical Center Computing Services and Health Information Technology Services developed the digital medical record storage system. CliniComp International's bedside charting system and the GE Medical Systems PACS picture archiving system help complete the data package. An order entry system developed at UCLA is expected to be operational later this year.

Physicians in the UCLA Departments of Anesthesiology, Medicine, Pediatrics, Surgery and Urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine are currently using Global Care Quest. In addition, several major hospitals in the United States and Australia are considering GCQ installations.

+'s:
1) easy to use
2) friendly front end
3) easy install
4) can install components to SD
5) "syncable"
6) fast (ie low ram req's)
7) awesome web-linked journal-pull feature

-'s:
1) Drug Guide leaves a lot to be desired (I like Epocrates better for Rx)
2) cannot "link" programs/books together like you can with Skyscape
3) not that cheap for the individual or institution

All in all I'd give this product a 7/10. Definitely not a must have, but a most appreciated!

And FYI products reviewed were:
Current Consult Medicine
Pocket Guide to Diagnostic Tests
Davis's Drug Guide
MEDLINE Journals

So I seem to have left a few KEY POINTS to Unbound Medicine. Thank you to everyone who emailed me in the last 24hrs!

Those major features of of Unbound Medicine are:
PDA, Web, and Wireless ? access to the content in the Medicine Central bundle can be accessed on the PDA, from your PC on a web browser, or if you have a wireless device like a Treo, or a blackberry, there is a wireless interface.

Searching ? on the Web and Wireless interface you can search across all included titles

Linking ? on the Web and Wireless platforms, there are related links within every record you view.

Medline ? in addition to the journal browser feature you mentioned for the PDA, you can search Medline on the Wireless and Web platform.

Archive ? You can store records and searches online in your Archive on the Web.