[The usefulness of personal digital assistants (Palm and Pocket PC) in the medical field].
BACKGROUND
The Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) has become nowadays a powerful and essential tool for many physicians. Its promising success in the near future and the lack of information in regard to its use in Lebanon led to this transverse study.


METHODS
A questionnaire was submitted to the doctors, residents and interns of Hôtel-Dieu de France (HDF) Hospital (Beirut), during March-April 2004 in order to evaluate the use of PDAs, the preferences and the needs of the medical personnel and to propose solutions which can meet its needs.


RESULTS
The answers' rate to the questionnaire is 70.3% (303 answers). The PDA possession rate is 3036%; it is significantly more important in physicians compared to surgeons. Among those having a PDA, the operating system Palm dominates with 60% with a current tendency towards the purchase of Pocket PC; the operating system Pocket PC dominates the Phone PDAs. Approximately one third use their PDA ineffectively and admit having difficulties which greatly reduce its use in the medical field. Lexi-Drugs is the most used pharmaceutical guide, Sanford Guide the most used microbiological guide, iSilo the most used medical textbooks reader. More than 85% do not use any program to follow up their patients or read medical journals. Two thirds recognize the beneficial role of the PDA on the quality and the speed of the medical practice, one third consider that it reduces medical errors. The availability of medical programs is significantly more important for Palm. Among the subjects not having a PDA, 47% hope to buy one in the year to come; the possession rate of PDAs is estimated to reach 69.3% in 2010. Computerization of the medical data, installation of a wireless network, courses on the use of PDAs in the medical field, etc., are needs considered to be useful by 60-80% of the responders.


CONCLUSIONS
Many medical utilities are already computerized. They still have to be presented in a format compatible with PDAs to answer a great part of the needs. A guided hospital policy and an educational program are needed to increase the usefulness of PDAs in the medical field.
Daher
Ralph
R
Service de Médecine interne, CHU Cooper, New Jersey, USA. ralphdaher@hotmail.com
Awada
Hassane
H
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D034201:Computers, Handheld / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019992:Databases as Topic; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D012984:Software; D013997:Time Factors