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Articles and talks Book Review: Handhelds for Doctors
Mo is a man with a mission, and that mission is to help doctors work more efficiently - by using handheld technology - but with the least pain in terms of learning. Mo's book assumes no knowledge on the part of the doctor, clearly guiding the newcomer to available platforms, reviewing 'quality', general purpose software suitable for medics in different professional situations, suggesting best collective strategies for maximising gains within small groups of medics - such as in a GP practice or a consultants' team in a hospital - while also minimising the busy practitioner's learning curve. And the books does all this while keeping a sense of humour and welcome lightness of tone. By careful use of terminology and explanations - the medical profession is quite different on each side of the Atlantic - the author manages to make the book a suitable read on both sides of the 'pond'. The trick that Mo has learned - through extensive seminar and training work with doctors across the UK - is to give enough well-chosen material to whet the appetite without overwhelming. Rather than drowning the new user in jargon and options, Mo's suggested approach is incremental - a few well-chosen programs - allowing new users to gain confidence rapidly. There is also plenty of material here for non-medics in healthcare management considering introducing PDAs to their own clinical environments, and for IT managers faced with demands for PDA technology from clinical practitioners in their own establishments. Issues such as security of clinical data are given careful consideration, with references to the most authoritative sources of up-to-date information. The final section of the book is devoted to techniques needed to be a project champion in an organisation. I should mention that Mo is a usability fan, and refers in his text to Steve Krug's book Don't Make Me Think, perhaps the most approachable, practical yet authoritative read for a non-specialist. Mo's approach is completely user-centred: if it doesn't work for the user, save her time, increase productivity, improve team-working, add fun...it's not worth doing. He also recognises the failings of IT systems as they are currently implemented in the NHS: "We need doctors to become involved at the design stage of computer software, rather than the complaints stage," he wrote three years ago, a statement that could still do with putting into practice today. I'd recommend this book to medics interested in entering the world of PDAs, to IT staff interested in integrating PDAs into the clinical ICT environment, to managers wanting to know more about how stand-alone PDA applications can improve clinical productivity. In fact to anyone interested in how handheld computing can take on the clinical agenda. [I'll leave for another day the issue of how existing and new desktop clinical applications can be integrated with held and handheld computing.] Check out http://www.handheldsfordoctors.com for further information from the author, to read other reviews or to order the book. Even better, Mo's site guides clinicians through the process of buying the best handheld according to budget and needs. I'll be doing further reviews for specialised medical and medical informatics publications, but you saw it first here. P.S. Mo also has a personal website at http://www.mo.md - perhaps the coolest personal domain name I've come across. Read more book reviews on this website
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