Introducing New Technology: Handheld Computers and Drug Databases. A Comparison Between Two Residency Programs

  • Authors:
  • Roland Brilla;Katja Elfriede Wartenberg

  • Affiliations:
  • Department of Neurology, University of Illinois, 912 South Wood Street, M/C 796, Chicago, Illinois 60612-7330/ rbrilla@uic.edu;Department of Neurology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC

  • Venue:
  • Journal of Medical Systems
  • Year:
  • 2004

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Abstract

There have been numerous efforts to introduce and increase the use of handheld computers, also called personal digital assistants (PDA), in health care, one of which is the distribution of PDAs to Neurology residents at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The authors examined the success of this intervention by comparing PDA use and user attitudes between residents of the intervention group and residents in another residency program where the use of PDAs is neither encouraged nor discouraged. The authors examined in particular the use of drug databases on the PDA as its currently most popular application in health care. The use of PDAs for purposes not related to health care was widespread among individuals in both programs, but the use of drug databases was significantly more common in the control group, which can be interpreted as a success of the intervention.