Physician use of PDA's

SE An article, “Use and Perceived Benefits of Handheld PDA Clinical Reference Applications”, from the AMIA 2005 Symposium Proceedings – page 1099 by Jeffrey Rothschild MD, MPH et. al. studied a two week period of use of PDA’s in patient care. For 2 weeks in February 2005, 3567 physicians were asked to use Epocrates (Rx Pro, ID and DX) and complete a survey assessing their PDA experience and practice patterns. Discounted incentives for products were offered for participating in the study.

1501 participants completed the study and reported using Epocrates for at least half of all patient interactions. In conclusion physicians thought they improved patient overall care, optimized treatments, and improved patient health. They especially liked the public health warnings, FDA drug alerts, and patient safety information. Furthermore the physicians also believed that technology will improve productivity, reduce medical error and improve patient outcomes.

If the use of PDA’s by physicians continues to grow in clinical practice settings, as reflected in this article, we may see PDA’s as a requirement in more pharmacy coursework. Discounted hand held devices for students would make PDA’s an affordable asset to learning and I, for one, would support their enhanced incorporation into the classroom. SE