For many IT departments, handheld computers are the first examples of computers that healthcare staff want even more than the IT staff do. This is a great opportunity for computerization of medical records, education and organization. However, the reasons that endear the machines to clinicians are the very differences of handheld computers from PCs. Software developers that do not take account of these differences lose the support of clinicians and miss out on the opportunities that the machines bring to the clinical environment.

This tutorial will explain:

• what clinicians like about handheld computers
• what user experience clinicians demand from software developers' handheld computer solutions
• the range of software development environments available for handheld computers