Apgar score

Spotted Apgar Score in Freewarepalm.com. I thought 370 Kb is a bit much for a single score calculator. Do note that Apgar score is included in the free highly rated Medcalc for PalmOS which has tons of other features.

Treo650 questions

SK from Harvard, MA writes:

I have to ask about your Treo 650. I'm pondering buying one of these. I have a separate PDA (Clie Sj22) and cellphone (Nokia 6010) presently. My main concerns with the Treo are voice quality, system stabiltiy, and the number pad. Is the cellphone function acceptable? Is the reception as good as a "typical" cellphone? I hear these phones reset often. Is this your experience? My biggest problem is using my cellphone, while on call, at night. I think the Treo 650 keypad must be tough to dial in the dark, with such small keys. I don't think the Treo allows voice activated calling either. How's your experience regarding these issues?

Hi SK. Thanks for writing in.
I must say overall I am very pleased with my Treo 650

First of all, the phone function is excellent. It's more than acceptable - the intuitive keypad and functions make the Treo650 an excellent phone. I did miss Profiles in my SEt610 but I found a freeware replacement. Some have complained about a soft Speaker phone but there is a third party software called Volumecare which is an excellent utility to address those facing volume issues (yeah, stop playing that iPod so often - it's damaging your hearing ;) )

As for your second question, yes i do experience occasional resets but with compatible apps loaded, resets are infrequent. Some apps are a little buggy and will cause a leak in the DBcache memory and resets are sometimes related to a depleted DBCache. There is a nifty freeware DBCache Tool which helps you keep an eye on this and improve stability. Some also use a freware utility called Resco Locker. Overall I find that my Treo650 is pretty stable. Some users have complained of slow-down and freezing when accessing the 'net when the GPRS signal is weak. I have occasionally encountered this and I don't know of a fix but Palm has been updating their firmware regularly to fix bugs and I think this will be overcome as well.

The Treo's keyboard is backlit. Using the phone at night is very easy and I have no problem using the keyboard.

Hope this helps in your decision!

Haemoncrules reloaded

OK, have managed to upload the update onto Palmgear.
Please visit the Haemoncrules Homepage for more info.
Don't forget to send me a postcard or better still donate to the Haemoncrules project!

Epocrates Online Free

I received a "Holiday gift" from Epocrates reminding me that their Web-based Epocrates Online service is available for free (with some limitations in their free edition as compared with their Premium edition)
Ever since I moved on to the Treo650, I have had to drop Epocrates from my Handheld since their PDA apps do not support efficient use of external storage cards, resulting in consumption of precious Ram, something the Treo650 is short of.
It got me thinking, if Epocrates could provide a free Online service, why not make it PDA friendly? Something like the PDA version of UpToDate for subscribers. Many PDAs like the TX, Lifedrive as well as Smartphones like the Treo 600/650 have wireless access either through Wifi or GPRS/Edge.
So think about it, Epocrates, if you are not able to produce a Ram efficient PDA app, then perhaps you could make your Online version PDA friendly!

Mosby’s Drug Consult & Interactions 2006

Press release:

Skyscape Introduces “Mosby’s Drug Consult & Interactions 2006” for Handheld Devices

MARLBOROUGH, MASS. – December 28, 2005 – Skyscape, Inc., the leader in mobile health and medical information solutions, today announced the release of “Mosby’s Drug Consult & Interactions 2006” formatted specially for PDAs and smart phones.

“Mosby’s Drug Consult & Interactions 2006” provides convenient, take-anywhere access to current, unbiased, accurate, and reliable drug information. It contains approximately 1,000 generic drug entries and many more prescription drug products indexed by generic name, U.S. brand name, international brand name, indication, and drug class.

“‘Mosby’s Drug Consult & Interactions 2006’ is ideal for medical practitioners,” said Sandeep Shah, Skyscape founder and CEO. “Skyscape’s intuitive and easy-to-use interface, smARTlink™, provides practitioners with instant access to critical information at the point of care. This reference is a powerful decision support tool that helps in reducing errors and enhances the quality of patient care,” said Shah.

The reference is published by Mosby, an Elsevier Health Services Company, and joins Skyscape’s portfolio of more than 300 trusted references in over 35 medical specialties.

Practitioners can purchase the reference or download a free trial version by visiting
http://www.skyscape.com/estore/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductId=1454.

Skyscape provides Cochrane Reviews

Press Release:

Skyscape Announces Partnership to Provide 49 “Cochrane Reviews” Medical Reference Titles for PDAs

MARLBOROUGH, MASS., December 27, 2005 – Skyscape, Inc., the leader in mobile health and medical decision support solutions, today announced a partnership with John Wiley & Sons, Inc. to release its family of 49 “Cochrane Reviews” titles, formatted specially for use by Palm and PocketPC enabled PDAs and smart phones.

“Cochrane Reviews” explore the evidence for and against the effectiveness and appropriateness of treatments to provide the 'gold-standard' in high quality, reliable, evidence-based medical information. The partnership marks the first time “Cochrane Reviews” titles – which were previously only available as a volume set - will be available as individual titles formatted for mobile, point-of-care use by medical professionals.

"As evidence-based medicine is becoming the basis for effective clinical decisions which result in positive patient outcomes, it is increasingly important that systematically reviewed information is available for determining diagnostic tests, treatments, risk factors, screening programs, and other of disease management requirements. Our partnership with John Wiley & Sons, Inc. to provide the ‘Cochrane Reviews’ on PDAs and smartphones provides a critical path for medical practitioners to stay current with the latest evidence in their specialty," said Sandeep Shah, Skyscape Founder and CEO.

“With access to ‘Cochrane Reviews’ titles individually,” Shah continues, “medical professionals can choose which topics apply to their area of specialty and build a continually updated library of evidence on their PDA.”

“Cochrane Reviews” are part of The Cochrane Library published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and deliver the best available evidence-based medical information. Each review explores the evidence for and against the effectiveness and appropriateness of treatments (medications, surgery, education) in specific circumstances. With the new partnership, Skyscape will offer a full selection of “Cochrane Reviews”, including:

• Anesthesiology
• Cardiology
• Infectious Disease
• Oncology
• Pediatrics
• Public Health
• And more than 30 other areas of specialty

The “Cochrane Reviews” titles join Skyscape’s portfolio of more than 300 trusted references in over 35 medical specialties. Cochrane Reviews titles are available for $29.95 each at http://www.skyscape.com/estore/ProductDetail_Cochrane.aspx, where a free trial version is also available for download.

Haemoncrules Christmas update

First of all a very Merry Christmas to all of you who are celebrating. Here's wishing you all peace and happiness on this blessed day.
I have taken the opportunity to update Haemoncrules - now version 2.0 with the addition of the MACIS Thyroid Ca. prognostic score (as requested by Vagus).
I am however in a place where I don't have broadband and where dialup really sucks and I can barely blog let alone upload files properly. So I'm afraid here's only a screenshot and the updated Haemoncrules will find it's way to Palmgear only after December 28:

Profiles for the Treo

Having switched to the Treo650 as my PDA/Phone convergence device, I must say that I haven't regretted the move and am enjoying the Treo everyday. There are a few things I miss though about the Treo as compared with my previous phone (a SonyEricsson T610). One of them is the ability to switch "profiles" easily - important say if you are at a meeting or conference and want your phone to stay silent and buzz only for calls or SMS messages.
Well I found an excellent add-on for the Treo 600/650 and its free. It's called Profiles and version 1.01 is superb. It allows you to setup multiple profiles with all sorts of parameters - not only the rings, buzzes but also cool things like the display, theme. I particularly like the ability to set the Radio state ON automatically for the profile in case you need to reset the Treo. You can also set a schedule for particular profiles to come on automatically at set times. Very cool.
I rate Profiles 5/5 and a must-have if you use a Treo!

Mobile Gmail

Good news for Mobile doctors. Google now officially supports mobile devices.
I tested it out on my Treo 650 and it works well using the Treo's Blazer browser.

Here's a screenshot:

New PDA titles

Some press releases:

Unbound: CURRENT CONSULT Medicine 2006 Unbound Medicine today released the all new 2006 edition of the CURRENT CONSULT Medicine (CCMed). From the authors and editors of Lange’s best-selling CURRENT Medical Diagnosis and Treatment, CURRENT CONSULT MEDICINE 2006 has all the latest information for rapid answers to the questions encountered in both hospital and outpatient care settings. The integrated differential diagnosis tool, derived from Diagnosaurus, allows users to lookup a symptom such as cough or headache, obtain the differential diagnosis (DDx), and then link directly to specific diseases and treatments in CCMed. Additional features include: * Practical answers on more than 850 disorders integrated with 550 differential diagnoses * New topics—SARS, Parvovirus, and more! * Tables optimized for PDA viewing * Practice guidelines and specific doses

Skyscape Introduces “Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database 2006” for Handheld Devices MARLBOROUGH, MASS. – December 15, 2005 – Skyscape, Inc., the leader in mobile health and medical information solutions, today announced the release of “Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database 2006” formatted specially for PDAs and smart phones. “Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database 2006” is a practical source of evidence based data on the uses and safety of natural medicines like herbs, vitamins, minerals, and supplements. The easy to use database is recognized as the scientific gold-standard for evidence based information. “‘Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database 2006’ is ideal for medical practitioners,” said Sandeep Shah, Skyscape founder and CEO. “Skyscape’s intuitive and easy-to-use interface, smARTlink™, provides practitioners with instant access to critical information at the point of care. This reference is a powerful decision support tool that helps in reducing errors and enhances the quality of patient care,” said Shah. The reference is published by the Therapeutic Research Center, and joins Skyscape’s portfolio of more than 300 trusted references in over 35 medical specialties. Practitioners can purchase the reference or download a free trial version by visiting http://www.skyscape.com/estore/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductId=1449.

Heart Doctor

Spottedin Palmgear, Heart Doctor is a new release by Island Coders

Application Description Heart Doctor is a complete guide to the management of the ten most common heart problems afflicting man today. Discussions concerning the disease description, orders, diagnosis and therapeutics are presented in a most concise and comprehensive manner. Designed for physicians and patients, Heart Doctor acts as a quick reference to patient management. It covers Acute Myocardial Infarction, Unstable Angina, Congestive Heart Failure, Hypertensive Urgency & Emergency, Supraventricular Tachycardia, Atrial Fibrillation, Premature Ventricular Contractions, Premature Atrial Contractions, Infective Endocarditis (treatment) and Acute Rheumatoid Fever.

Upcoming plans

It's been a quiet week for Palm Medical computing so I'd just let you know what's up and coming my end. Vagus has written to ask me about a Palm program to calculate prognostic scores for Thyroid ca, so I told him I'd be happy to include one (MACIS) in the next version of Haemoncrules. I think I'll work on this during the Christmas break so hopefully the new version will be released in 2006.
A coleague has also broached the idea of converting a useful hand book called "Emergencies in Internal Medicine" written by Dr. Wong Yin Onn back in 1988. If things go as planned (the author has given his permission), then a bunch of us will update the sections, then we'll release it as a free ebook (probably in iSilo format).
Well, that's the plans for the coming months.
Happy Palming!

Skyscape Expands Partnership with American College of Physicians

Press release:
MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – Dec. 5, 2005 – Skyscape Inc. and the American College of Physicians (ACP) today announce an expanded partnership to transition all subscribers from the ACP PDA version of the Physicians’ Information and Education Resource (PIER) to Skyscape’s mobile platform.

Under this agreement, all subscribers to the ACP version of the PIER PDA can upgrade to a free, one-year subscription for a special Skyscape bundle of PIER and AHFS Dosing Companion. This special bundle combines the best in evidence-based clinical guidance & drug dosing guidelines and includes rationale/evidence levels plus hundreds of images not previously included in the ACP PIER PDA version. In addition, Skyscape is offering special savings to all other ACP Members on PIER and hundreds of medicine's most trusted physician references for mobile devices. Click here for more information

“More of our members are using mobile devices as part of their daily practice, and this enhanced partnership will allow them to fully realize the usefulness of PIER’s evidence-based approach by providing seamless cross-indexing with their other Skyscape mobile references,” said ACP Executive Vice President and CEO John Tooker, MD, MBA, FACP. “Skyscape brings the technology, expertise and proven track record needed to meet our needs and the needs of our physician members. By providing immediate, cross-indexing capability with more than 300 other trusted medical
references, Skyscape has helped us bring even more functionality to PIER.”

Developed and continually updated by the ACP, PIER is a decision-support tool designed for rapid point-of-care delivery of evidence-based guidance for clinicians. PIER’s 400 disease-based modules present a series of guidance statements and practice recommendations, supported by more detailed levels of rationale and evidence.

“For decades the ACP has enhanced the quality and effectiveness of health care by fostering excellence and professionalism in the practice of medicine. Now, by making evidenced-based information accessible to doctors at point-of-care and using Skyscape’s smARTlink™ technology to integrate it with all other Skyscape products, the ACP is helping set a new standard in the use of evidenced-based medicine in daily practice,” said Sandeep Shah, president and CEO of Skyscape, Inc.

PDAs help reduce unnecessary Rx

Mobilehealthdata reports:

A study of 334 physicians in rural Utah and Idaho found that a PDA-based clinical decision support system helped reduce the number of antibiotics prescribed for respiratory infections. The study took place in 2001-2003 and was funded by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Results were published in a recent edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Score another one for PDA usage at point-of-care!

5MCC mates with Diagnosaurus

Unbound Medicine has now integrated their 5-Minute Clinical Consult 2006 product with the free PDA differential diagnosis tool, Diagnosaurus

Diagnosaurus has been integrated with 5-Minute Clinical Consult 2006 to make this resource more powerful than ever! FREE with this version of 5-Minute Clinical Consult the popular Diagnosaurus contains differential diagnoses for more than 1,000 common presentations. This special Unbound Medicine package gives you direct links from presenting symptoms and differential diagnoses in Diagnosaurus right into 5MCC disease content.