Summary of Content

Dr. Mohammad Al-Ubaydli M.D., a Visiting Research Fellow at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in Washington, D.C. has recently published an information guide entitled Handheld Computers for Doctors. A handheld computer, also known as a personal digital assistant (PDA), is defined in this report as “a computer that is small enough to hold in your hand, or keep in your pocket.” This book addresses four main topics: what is a handheld computer? What utility does it provide for personal organization and clinical information management? What are some practical applications of networked handhelds in the clinical setting? How does an individual become a successful handheld computer project champion? The book is organized into three sections that are well organized to address these questions.

The first section, termed “Why Star Trek is Science Past,” is clearly targeted at clinicians who are skeptical about the technology or who recently became new users of handheld computers. Dr. Al-Ubaydli provides insight into choosing basic hardware and software, and covers both Palm™ and PocketPC™ handheld computer environments. Some of the general functions covered include: personal organization (calendar, address book and notepad), internet access, electronic book options, and of course, games. The section also addresses basic tools available on handheld computers for clinical information management, including structured outline tools for scientific lectures, patient data management capabilities and medical reference documents.

The second section’s title, “Why two handhelds are better than one” is misleading. The section actually covers three cases of how handheld computers were used to reengineer workflow in three clinical settings, and is written to be of value to champions of this technology who are interested in more aggressively integrating handheld computing into the clinical arena. Each of these cases begins with an overview of the environment, a problem in that environment, a solution developed using handheld computing technology, qualitative results, and a summary of lessons learned through the process. Although the case studies are valuable, the section would have been more useful had the author included examples of implementation failure. The three cases succeed with very little political, social or economic confrontation. Knowledge of failures would be valuable to project champions elsewhere to help them learn what to avoid, as well as what to do.

The final section of the book is entitled, “On being a project champion.” This section, aimed at clinical leaders likely to catalyze the use of handheld technology in their environment, addresses issues such as how to facilitate organizational change, how to secure funding for this effort, how to work with information technology departments, how to choose enterprise software, and how to provide training and education. These topics are addressed in cursory fashion. Although some references are recommended within the section, this section would have been significantly enhanced by an annotated bibliography, because change-management literature is likely to be critical for this audience.

Author Qualifications

Dr. Mohammad Al-Ubaydli M.D is a graduate of Cambridge University, and is a recipient of the Fulton Roberts Immunology Prize for his software project, ImmunoSim. His career has combined his medical and computing knowledge. He has worked for several institutions and companies around the UK and the USA. He also has developed software for Project Palm at Cambridge University, which allowed medical students to share their learning using handhelds. That project provided teaching, training and technical support to thirty medical students regarding best use of their handheld machines. He has lectured and consulted on the use of handhelds in medicine, and was recently elected to the Executive Committee of the British Medical Informatics Society. He is now a Visiting Research Fellow at the National Centre for Biotechnology Information in Washington, DC.

Overall Evaluation

Any attempt to create a textbook that addresses a burgeoning technology is likely to be out-of-date before it is published. Dr. Al-Ubaydli has brought together timeless material (why a clinician might adopt handheld computers) with obviously time-sensitive material (actual web addresses of freeware/shareware applications.)

The book is written in a very informal style that clinicians can easily read and understand quickly. The first section should convince anyone interested in purchasing a handheld computer to proceed, through new confidence that some aspect of personal or professional life will benefit from the purchase. However, novices are less likely to find value in the other sections of the book, which require a very different level of interest in handheld computers. Herein lies the major weakness of the book: anyone who is likely to find the second and third sections of the book of interest will also discover more abundant material for free in journals (as case studies) or on the Internet in various free forms. Because these other media are more likely to be up-to-date, the book may add little marginal value for a clinician who owns a handheld and is comfortable searching the Internet.

Skeptics or late adopters of handheld computers who need a text to help motivate them to purchase a handheld computer will probably enjoy this book. It is shorter in length than competing textbooks, and probably contains a similar amount of timeless knowledge. More experienced users of handhelds will probably find no textbook on this subject of value, because of the rapid pace of software development, hardware enhancements, and innovations in computing that affect the niche of handheld computers.

Quotable Quote

The spirit of this guide can be summed up with the following excerpt: “When I began working as a doctor, I convinced my colleagues to get a similar machine. Morning handovers no longer involved frantic scribbling of patients’ details. We just lined up our handhelds and beamed away. Then we discussed the most important details…while having a coffee.”

Joel R. Aronoff, BS and Kevin B. Johnson, MD, MS
Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University