.KEYWORD healthcare
.FLYINGHEAD HEALTHCARE APPLICATIONS
.TITLE Healthcare-specific Palm solutions
.FEATURE
.SPOTLIGHT FIGALT cover.gif
.SUMMARY In this article, Dr. Darwin J. Liao examines some of the cool Palm applications created specifically for the healthcare industry in order to help healthcare professionals manage key elements of the healthcare delivery process such as billing and charge capture, medical charting, drug database and medical reference, electronic prescriptions, lab and patient tracking, and outcomes data collection.
.AUTHOR Darwin J. Liao, MD, MPH
Palm solutions have been shown to reduce medical errors, manage patient costs, and enhance practice efficiency. More importantly, using a Palm device in practicing medicine makes managing the large amounts of healthcare information more manageable and fun, while ensuring increased efficiency and quality of patient care.
Healthcare has truly embraced Palm devices with open arms. Conservative estimates state that 20% of all physicians use a handheld device. However, medical association surveys and informal surveys within medical schools and academic institutions are more indicative of the enormous popularity of Palm device usage. Up to 35% of all medical students and residents use Palm devices. Some teaching hospitals and medical schools now provide Palm devices to all students and residents, and one medical association states over 50% of their membership uses Palm devices.
.CALLOUT It’s an exciting time to be a physician and a Palm device user.
While some might argue that the Palm computer is simply used by healthcare professionals as a personal device, I can assure you that this is not true. I just returned from the HIMSS (Health Information Management Systems Society) Annual Meeting in New Orleans, and the abundance of Palm solutions that integrate into existing backend and legacy systems is staggering. I’ve also had the opportunity to speak on handheld and wireless computing solutions in healthcare at several major medical association meetings across the country. From these meetings, I’ve gained further insight into the types of challenges other healthcare professionals are solving with their Palm OS devices.
.H1 Solutions for the major healthcare segments
Palm solutions exist for everyone in the following major healthcare segments:
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET Physicians;
.BULLET Medical students, residents, fellows;
.BULLET Allied health, nursing;
.BULLET Payors;
.BULLET Distributors;
.BULLET Pharmaceuticals;
.BULLET Consumers.
.END_LIST
.H1 Healthcare specific solutions
I’m going to cover some key solutions in some basic areas of the healthcare delivery process. One of the best things about the Palm platform is the spectrum of solutions available. While you can find solutions that are completely turnkey, and even wireless, there’s a wealth of solutions that simply help you with your existing workflow by helping to manage information more effectively and generate paper more efficiently.
.CALLOUT The next revolution in healthcare will be information management, and Palm is the leader in this market with solutions that are secure, mobile, and connected.
Palm solutions in healthcare cover such topics as:
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET Positive patient ID;
.BULLET Medication administration;
.BULLET Laboratory specimen collection;
.BULLET Vital signs;
.BULLET Medical record tracking;
.BULLET X-ray tracking;
.BULLET Insurance forms;
.BULLET Supply management;
.BULLET Home healthcare;
.BULLET Pharmaceutical/medical device sales force effectiveness;
.BULLET Clinical trials;
.BULLET Billing/charge capture;
.BULLET Patient information management;
.BULLET Clinical guidelines;
.BULLET Practice management;
.BULLET Patient monitoring;
.BULLET Ambulatory care;
.BULLET Pharmacy orders;
.BULLET Formulary information;
.BULLET Medical references.
.END_LIST
In this article, I’ll highlight some compelling solutions from HIMSS that solve specific healthcare challenges, taking an in depth look at such topics as billing and charge capture, medical charting, drug database and medical reference, electronic prescriptions, lab and patient tracking, and outcomes data collection.
While this article is targeted at healthcare professionals, the information in this article is bound to be helpful even if you’re not a doctor.
.H2 Billing and charge capture
Outside of solutions that assist decision-making processes directly related to patient care, charge capture is one of the more popular solutions. Particularly in this evolving era of healthcare reform and insurance regulations, efficient and accurate billing is a necessity. The most basic of these types of solutions allow you to reference ICD-9 (International Classification of Diseases, 9th Edition) and CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) codes so you can complete your paper-based superbills more quickly. There are also calculators to help ensure your coding is in compliance with the newer E&M (Evaluation and Management) coding recommendations. One such example is 1-Box Practice Manager from e-360, Inc (at http://www.1-box.com). A free E&M calculator, the topsE&M Coder, is available from e-MDs (at http://www.e-mds.com/emds/prodserv/tops_emcoder.html).
For a billing solution that can integrate with existing legacy billing systems, such as IDX, Cerner, SMS, and other HL7-compatible systems, look to PatientKeeper, Inc. (formerly Virtmed). Their ChargeKeeper application allows charge capture entry at the point of care on the Palm handheld with integration into virtually any backend system. The company has also introduced LabKeeper, a lab results interface, in addition to the popular medical charting product, PatientKeeper, after which the company is named. LabKeeper is pictured in Figure A.
.FIG A LabKeeper allows physicians to communicate with the lab throughout the day.
Of note, PatientKeeper (at http://www.patientkeeper.com) has moved to a platform strategy, meaning developers and other users wishing to tie into existing legacy systems with a Palm OS device can simply obtain PatientKeeper’s SDK. This is very exciting news for the healthcare community, as I expect many in-house developers to build custom front-end solutions for Palm devices that can then be integrated into existing legacy systems without the challenge of the integration component, as this can be supplied by PatientKeeper.
.H2 Medical charting
There are several solutions available that can provide full documentation for the medical chart. PatientKeeper is probably the most popular of these with over 40,000 users. WardWatch (at http://www.torlesse.com/pilot/wardwatch/) is another solution in this category. WardWatch records investigations, medications and dosages, and consultations requested by the senior consultant or registrar during ward round examinations. It’s pictured in Figure B.
.FIG B WardWatch records investigations, medications and dosages, and consultations.
.H2 Medical and drug reference and electronic prescriptions
This category has probably experienced the most growth in the last year. Hands down, the most popular drug reference for the Palm OS has to be qRx from ePocrates (at http://www.epocrates.com). This is a clinical handheld application that allows point of care access to drug dispensing information and drug interactions. In the course of a little over a year, this product has been adopted by 150,000 healthcare professionals, of whom 85,000 are U.S. physicians. qRx has been shown to reduce medical errors, manage drug costs, and enhance practice efficiency. One of the best things about qRx is its cost: free. qRx is now joined by qID, an infectious disease antibiotic handbook that has recently been released. Another nice feature of the ePocrates solution is AutoUpdate. If you have a live Internet connection, qRx securely updates its database via the Internet each time you HotSync. A more in depth look at ePocrates can be found elsewhere in this issue of PalmPower’s Enterprise Edition.
For those of you familiar with Tarascon’s Pocket Pharmacopoeia, Medscape offers ePharamcopoeia as a free download at its Web site, http://www.medscape.com/MedscapeMobile/Tarascon/public/learn_tarascon.html.
Skyscape (previously K2 Consultants) offers a variety of medical references for the Palm OS, including LexiDrugs, and 5 Minute Clinical Consult (at http://www.skyscape.com). These products are also available from Franklin Electronic Publishers (at http://www.franklin.com), which also offers the PDR (Physicians Desk Reference).
For electronic prescriptions, there are many solutions available, such as ePhysician’s ePad (at http://www.ephysician.com/products/index.asp?id=epad) and iScribe (at http://www.iscribe.com). Each of these allows script writing on the Palm device. When batch synchronized via cradle or wireless connection, the prescriptions are sent to a server that transmits the scripts to the patient’s pharmacy. Reduced errors, reduced pharmacy callbacks, and a low monthly fee are the benefits of these solutions, and since they stand on their own, they can integrate into your existing workflow. ePad is pictured in Figure C.
.FIG C ePad allows you to write and send prescriptions to any pharmacy in the U.S.
Another solution that was just introduced at HIMSS is IR Script from IS Complete (at http://www.iscomplete.com). IR Script has the potential to become an instant hit among physicians that are in need of a simple, yet practical solution. Here’s how it works: you complete a couple of intuitive screens to write your prescription and then point your Palm device at a wireless infrared printer to print legible prescriptions. Everyone is happy because there’s a minimal impact on the workflow of all parties involved. You can synchronize all the prescriptions you’ve written to a desktop database, pharmacists can fill a legible prescription, and patients feel comfortable because they leave your office with their prescriptions in hand.
.H2 Lab, pharmacy, and patient tracking
BD (at http://www.bd.com) and Autros (at http://www.autros.com) both use Palm OS-based devices from Symbol Technologies equipped with barcoding to handle lab specimen and patient tracking. Autros also provides a solution for electronic medications administration records tracking. Other lab results solutions, such as LabKeeper from PatientKeeper and a recently announced product from pulseMD (at http://www.pulsemd.com) and PathLab allow for laboratory orders and results. At the HIMSS meeting, I also saw several solutions that allowed for radiology reports and viewing of transcribed medical charts. Most of these solutions allowed for real-time access using a Palm VIIx.
.H1 Summary
With incredible solutions like these, it’s no wonder so many industry leaders are choosing to deploy Palm devices. Just look at this impressive list of hospitals and universities that have already begun deployment of handheld technology:
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET American Medical Response;
.BULLET American Red Cross;
.BULLET Beth Israel Hospital;
.BULLET BlueCross BlueShield of the Rochester Area;
.BULLET Cedars-Sinai Health System;
.BULLET Centra Health;
.BULLET Children’s Hospital, Norfolk VA;
.BULLET Christiana Health Care;
.BULLET Duke University Medical Center;
.BULLET German Red Cross;
.BULLET Harvard Medical School;
.BULLET Mass General Hospital;
.BULLET McKessonHBOC;
.BULLET Medical University of South Carolina: Storm
.BULLET Eye Institute;
.BULLET Medtronic;
.BULLET Miami Children’s Hospital;
.BULLET Mount Sinai Hospital Toronto, Canada;
.BULLET National Naval Medical Center;
.BULLET Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, VA;
.BULLET Naval School of Health Sciences;
.BULLET Pacific Hearing Services;
.BULLET PHT Clinical Networks;
.BULLET Prudential;
.BULLET Rochester Individual Practice Association;
.BULLET Sonic Innovations St. Joseph’s Hospital, Phoenix, AZ;
.BULLET Walter Reed Army Medical Center;
.BULLET West Park Hospital.
.END_LIST
Palm is also one of the founding members of MoHCA (Mobile Healthcare Alliance). MoHCA’s Mission is to "ensure professional practices and patient trust in mobile data management through the adoption of comprehensive industry standards and guidelines.
.BEGIN_KEEP
I don’t think there has been a time in recent healthcare technology history when there has been as dominant a user-base for a single platform as there is now for the Palm OS. There’s a unique opportunity for IT mangers to deliver enterprise solutions to physicians on Palm handheld devices, and the tools and solutions exist today. The next revolution in healthcare will be information management, and Palm is the leader in this market with solutions that are secure, mobile, and connected. It’s an exciting time to be a physician and a Palm device user.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on 1-Box Practice Manager from e-360, Inc, visit http://www.1-box.com.
For more information on topsE&M Coder from e-MDs, visit http://www.e-mds.com/emds/prodserv/tops_emcoder.html.
For more information on PatientKeeper, visit http://www.patientkeeper.com.
For more information on WardWatch, visit http://www.torlesse.com/pilot/wardwatch/
For more information on ePocrates, visit http://www.epocrates.com.
For more information on Medscape’s ePharamcopoeia, visit http://www.medscape.com/MedscapeMobile/Tarascon/public/learn_tarascon.html.
For more information on Skyscape, visit http://www.skyscape.com.
For more information on Franklin Electronic Publishers, visit http://www.franklin.com.
For more information on ePhysician’s ePad, visit http://www.ephysician.com/products/index.asp?id=epad.
For more information on iScribe, visit http://www.iscribe.com.
For more information on IS Complete, visit http://www.iscomplete.com.
For more information on BD, visit http://www.bd.com.
For more information on Autros, visit http://www.autros.com.
For more information on pulseMD, visit http://www.pulsemd.com.
For more information about Palm computers, visit http://www.palm.com.
.H1 Bulk reprints
Bulk reprints of this article (in quantities of 100 or more) are available for a fee from Reprint Services, a ZATZ business partner. Contact them at reprints@zatz.com or by calling 1-800-217-7874.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO Darwin J. Liao, MD, MPH, puts his Palm device to work at Seattle Eye M.D.s Ophthalmology Clinic and Optical Shop at http://www.eyemds.net.
.DISCUSS http://powerboards.zatz.com/cgi-bin/webx?50@@.ee6f11a
.END_KEEP
