infofest 2006

This web page is an ad hoc collection of useful sites and products for medical users of Palm and Pocket PC PDAs, and some useful web sites for non-PDA users as well.  It was last updated October 2006. Unfortunately many things change quickly, so my apologies if there are any errors--if you notice any please let me know.

Most links are self explanatory; products are followed by notation that shows what platform it runs on, how much it costs (as of last update) and how much memory it requires on a Palm.  Pocket PC software generally uses more memory than the Palm equivalent, but Pocket PCs usually have room to spare.  The notation reads:

• Product (Platform; Price)

There's an area for comments at the bottom of the page; please add a note about anything you find missing and I'll add it at the next update.

drugreferences

• ePocrates (Both-$0 to $150/yr depending on features)
  • The archetype of drug references
  • Includes MedMath for free (but MedCalc is also free and perhaps better)
• Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopeia (Both-$28/yr)
  • Electronic version of the classic pocket book with enhanced features

calculators

• MedCalc (Palm; free)
  • Multifunction medical calculator
  • Stores patient data
• MedRules (Palm; free)
  • Clinical prediction rules calculator
  • NOTE: no longer being maintained; beware outdated rules!
• StatCoder calculators (Palm; free)
  • ATP-3 Cholesterol
  • GRACE Acute coronary syndrome risk
  • ACC/ACP Perioperative cardiac evaluation
  • PHQ-9 Depression score
• ABG Pro (Palm; free)
  • Does ABG math for you, adds interpretation
• MentStat (Palm; 4K)
  • Reminder and calculator for mini mental status exam (Thanks to Raj Dev for the suggestion)
• EBM Calculator (Palm; free)
  • Calculates Sens/spec, LR, NNT, etc based on raw data
• OsteoEd (Palm; free)
  • Includes two predictor tools for osteoporosis screening/mgmt.
• NHLBI (Palm, some Pocket PC; free) [NOTE: NHLBI tools may not be compatible with late model Palm devices, esp T5]
  • Obesity calculator
  • Asthma guidelines
  • Cholesterol guidelines
  • Hypertension guidelines

referencebooks

• InfoRetriever (Both; $250/yr, free for UW faculty)
  • Summaries of articles/evidence
  • Clinical calculators
  • Cochrane reviews
  • 5-minute clinical consult
• PIER (Both; $70)
  • Reference from American College of Physicians
  • Web version free for ACP members, PDA format isn't
• Washington Manual (Both; $60)
  • Full text of the handbook; hard to read in PDA format
• 5 Minute Clinical Consult (Both; $65)
  • Better organized for PDA, less comprehensive info on more illnesses
• Sanford guide (Both; $27.50)
  • The classic ID book
• Johns Hopkins ID guide (Both; free)
  • Free alternative ID guide, well reviewed
• UpToDate (PPC; $500 [$400 renewal])
  • Pocket PC version of UpToDate clinical database
  • Available with subscription to online/CD version of UTD

palmwebsites

• Ectopic brain
  • Comprehensive site by the author of MedRules
  • Highly recommended
• Healthlinks
  • Selected by UW library staff
• pdaMD
  • News, new product reviews
• Top PDA resources for FPs
  • Good "top 10 list" from AAFP
• Raja's Palm Library
  • One page with links to many useful sites

other

• Journals/News
  • NEJM (Both; subscription; )
    • Requires individual subscription to NEJM
    • Download summaries or full-text
  • Annals of Internal Medicine (Both; subscription)
    • Requires dedicated Annals reader
  • JournalToGo (Both; free)
    • Free subscription service downloads journal articles, updates with sync
    • Selection mechanism unclear
  • AvantGo (Both; free)
    • Multiple medical "channels", none worthy of individual mention
• Eponyms (Palm; free)
  • Searchable list of 1,400 eponyms
  • Also available in database format for Palm & PPC
• Mnemonics (Palm; free)
  • Searchable database of mnemonics
• StatCoder billing tools (Palm; variable)
  • E&M Coder
  • ICD-9 Coder
  • CPT Coder
  • NCD Lab Coder

databases

• Jfile (Palm; ?)
  • Lightweight, commonly used DB software
• HanDBase (Both; 470K)
  • Desktop access; conduits sync with Access or FileMaker (Mac)
• MobileDB (Both; ?)
  • Conduits sync with Excel/Access

docreaders

• TealInfo (Palm; variable)
  • Engine for building calculators and decision-makers
• iSilo (Both; variable)
  • Enhanced document reader with some interactive features
• TealDoc (Palm; variable)
  • Enhanced document reader
• PalmReader (Both; variable)
  • Basic document reader ("DOC" format)

otherwebsites

• UpToDate
  • Online information resource, organized into individual "cards" of information
  • Supported by Society of General Internal Medicine
  • Free patient information available for non-subscribers & patients
  • CME credit available for indvidual subscribers (not institutional subscribers)
• PIER (Physicians' Information and Education Resource)
  • Online information, organized with same framework for each topic
  • Supported by American College of Physicians
  • Excellent documentation of evidence base, navigation difficult
• National Guideline Clearinghouse
  • AHRQ-sponsored search engine for clinical guidelines
  • Guidelines downloadable to Palm in PalmDoc format
• MedlinePlus
  • Patient information clearinghouse from National Library of Medicine
• RxAssist
  • Information on obtaining free/discounted prescription medications
  • Supported by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• eICD
  • Free online lookup of ICD-9 codes
  • Requires free registration
• NHLBI Cardiac Risk Calculator
  • Online calculator of Framingham risk score
  • Useful in making decisions about hyperlipidemia therapy
• Dermatology online atlas
  • Many images, searchable both by diagnosis and by body area
• Journal Watch
  • Summaries of recently-published articles with editorial comments
  • Good search capability
  • Full access requires print subscription