.KEYWORD wirelesshealth
.FLYINGHEAD HEALTH RESOURCES
.TITLE Wireless solutions for healthcare professionals
.OTHER
.SUMMARY There’s a vast amount of health information and resources available for Palm device users. Steve Niles surveys some of the cool Palm Query Applications and AvantGo mobile channels available today to assist health professionals and consumers.
.AUTHOR Steve Niles
There’s a vast amount of health information and resources available for Palm device users. This information can be accessed wirelessly, using a Palm VII or any other Palm unit equipped with a Wireless modem. However, those of you without wireless access to the Internet have a number of resources at your disposal as well.
The two main ways of accessing health resources using your Palm device are via PQAs (Palm Query Applications) and via AvantGo mobile channels. We’ll start by taking a brief survey of the PQAs available.
.H1 Palm Query Applications
A PQA is a Palm application designed specifically for wireless Palm devices by third-party developers. PQAs are designed to let you query the Internet for a specific kind of information and retrieve it. What follows is a list of PQAs available from http://www.palm.net that will allow you to access health information and resources specifically.
.H2 HealthGate’s MEDLINE
This PQA allows you to search MEDLINE for abstracts in medical literature. You can find HealthGate’s MEDLINE at http://www.healthgate.com. It contains more than nine million records covering all areas of medicine.
.H2 TheHealthChannel.com
TheHealthChannel.com PQA is available at http://www.thehealthchannel.com/palm_d/?co_id. With it, you can receive health news and information. Consumers and professionals can also use a variety of eHealth tools to search drug, herb, and vitamin information in real-time. It’s pictured in Figure A.
.FIG A TheHealthChannel.com PQA offers health news and information.
.H2 Air Heart-Consumer
With the Air Heart-Consumer PQA, you can get information on heart health and disease. You can scan headlines about recent studies, read what each study found, and check out the each author’s own summary from the Medline database. It’s found at http://www2.kumc.edu/wichita/heartdoc/ and is pictured in Figure B.
.FIG B The Air Heart-Consumer PQA provides information on heart health and disease.
.H2 Body1
Body1 is a health and medical information community. Its focus is on wellness through empowerment, healing technology, and care from the best doctors and surgeons. You can download the PQA at http://www.body1.com/palm/palm.cfm. It’s pictured in Figure C.
.FIG C Body1 is a health and medical information community for consumers.
At http://www.body1.com/palm/palm.cfm, you can also download Knee1 and Veins1. Knee1 is your complete source for knee health. Its information comes from http://www.knee1.com. The PQA is pictured in Figure D.
.FIG D Knee1 is your complete source for knee health.
The Veins1 PQA is a research tool from http://www.veins1.com covering venous problems and treatments. It contains numerous doctor-reviewed medical conditions, procedures, and treatments for veins.
.H2 HealthGrades
HealthGrades at http://www.healthgrades.com/information/mobile/palm.cfm will allow you to locate emergency service providers or health clinics, locate a healthcare provider in your area, and get the latest health news and health tips. It’s pictured in Figure E.
.FIG E HealthGrades provides tools to select and find healthcare providers.
.H2 Transnet
The Transnet PQA is a Transcend Inc. service at http://www.transcendonline.com/transnet.cfm. Transcend is a solution resource for dentists and their staffs, designed to help them keep up with the rapidly expanding body of information available to them. Patients can also use it to get the latest and most up-to-date information on any dental issue they may have, or procedures they may be undergoing or considering. The Transnet PQA is pictured in Figure F.
.FIG F The Transnet PQA is a wireless link to Transcend’s resources for dentists.
.H2 The National Academies
Science, technology, and health information from the National Academies is available from the National Academies PQA. The academies are private, nonprofit institutions that provide science, technology, and health policy advice under a congressional charter. You can find them at http://www.nationalacademies.org.
.H2 FitForAll.com
The PQA for FitForAll.com provides access to an interactive community where you take an active role in your own well-being. FitForAll.com gives you the tools to manage your life, make healthy and educated choices, and effect tangible changes through a personalized life plan. It’s found at http://www.fitforall.com. The PQA is pictured in Figure G.
.FIG G The FitForAll.com PQA helps you take an active role in your own well-being.
.H1 AvantGo channels
PQAs aren’t the only method of accessing information on the Internet using your Palm device. If you visit http://www.avantgo.com and sign up for their free service, you can subscribe to channels that download specific information to your handheld from the Internet each time you HotSync with your desktop computer. If you’ve got a wireless connection to the Internet, however, your AvantGo channels become even more powerful, as you can receive freshly updated information anywhere, anytime. What follows are some of the AvantGo channels available that deal specifically with health related content.
.H2 AFP Abstracts from Handheldmed
With the approval of the American Academy of Family Physicians, Handheldmed.com at http://www.handheldmed.com offers abstracts from the American Family Physician journal via this mobile channel. You’re able to access between two to four weeks worth of journal abstracts at a time. It’s pictured in Figure H.
.FIG H Handheldmed.com offers abstracts from the American Family Physician journal.
.H2 Air Heart
Like the Air Heart PQA listed above, the Air Heart Consumer mobile channel provides information on cardiovascular health and illness through headlines, abstracts, and articles. There are two other Air Heart channels available. Air Heart Guidelines offers cardiology practice guideline summaries for quick reference and review, and Air Heart Professional, pictured in Figure I, provides cardiology headlines, abstracts, and selected articles.
.FIG I air Heart Professional offers cardiology headlines, abstracts, and selected articles.
All three mobile channels can be found at http://www2.kumc.edu/wichita/heartdoc/.
.H2 HealthNewsDigest.com
HealthNewsDigest.com at http://www.healthnewsdigest.com provides current and breaking news on the health industry for professionals and consumers. The organization behind the site is made up of television producers, journalists, senior health executives, marketing executives, and leading medical experts. Approximately twenty professional reporters and editors across the nation provide current and breaking news. It’s published once a week on Monday mornings, and breaking news is updated on a daily basis. It’s pictured in Figure J.
.FIG J HealthNewsDigest.com provides current and breaking news on the health industry.
.H2 AcneWorld.com
AcneWorld.com at http://www.acneworld.com is your source for the latest acne news and information. Teenagers and adults alike suffer from acne. With the AcneWorld.com mobile channel, you can get helpful tips and information on treating acne whenever and wherever you need it. It’s pictured in Figure K.
.FIG K Get the latest acne news and information from AcneWorld.com.
.H2 Asimba
Asimba, at http://www.asimba.com, is an online resource for sports and fitness enthusiasts. Asimba offers personalized training and weight loss programs, race event recommendations, and daily articles and tips. It’s pictured in Figure L.
.FIG L Asimba is an online resource for sports and fitness enthusiasts.
.H2 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Finally, LWW (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins), a global publisher of medical, nursing and allied health information resources at http://www.lww.com, has recently announced that it will be teaming with AvantGo, Inc. to provide LWW’s professional health content via a mobile channel. LWW plans to publish more than 25 titles in 2001 for handheld platforms, so keep your eye out for developments there.
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.H1 Conclusion
Whether or not you go wireless, there’s a vast amount of health-related information and resources available for you to take wherever you go using your Palm device. Let this survey be a jumping off point as you discover the possibilities mobile computing can offer in the health field.
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.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on Palm Query Applications, visit http://www.palm.net.
For more information on HealthGate’s MEDLINE, visit http://www.healthgate.com.
For more information on thehealthchannel.com, visit http://www.thehealthchannel.com/palm_d/?co_id.
For more information on air Heart-Consumer, visit http://www2.kumc.edu/wichita/heartdoc/.
For the Body1, Knee1, and Veins1 PQAs, visit http://www.body1.com/palm/palm.cfm.
For more information on Body1, visit http://www.body1.com.
For more information on Knee1, visit http://www.knee1.com.
For more information on Veins1, visit http://www.veins1.com.
For more information on HealthGrades, visit http://www.healthgrades.com/information/mobile/palm.cfm.
For more information on Transnet, visit http://www.transcendonline.com/transnet.cfm.
For more information on the National Academies, visit http://www.nationalacademies.org.
For more information on FitForAll.com, visit http://www.fitforall.com.
For more information on AvantGo, visit http://www.avantgo.com.
For more information on Handheldmed.com, visit http://www.handheldmed.com.
For more information on the air Heart mobile channels, visit http://www2.kumc.edu/wichita/heartdoc/.
For more information on HealthNewsDigest.com, visit http://www.healthnewsdigest.com.
For more information on AcneWorld.com, visit http://www.acneworld.com.
For more information on Asimba, visit http://www.asimba.com.
For more information on Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, visit http://www.lww.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.
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.BIO
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