St Georges PDA Network: why the need

1
St Georges PDA Network why the need?

• Enquiries about PDAs
• Expectation of knowledge
• Expectation of support
• Widely used by US health professionals/students
• anticipating changes in technology
• keeping one step ahead of the user!

2
Project staff

• Helen Alper NHS Liaison Librarian. Promotes the
  interests of all NHS staff within the library.
• James Boman from the St. Georges Application
  Development department. Designs and implements
  custom software solutions for the Trust.
• Morag Clarkson Information Skills Training
  Librarian responsible for designing, promoting
  and delivering a programme of information skills
  training to all NHS staff across SW London..
• Alex Edwards Computing Services. Helpdesk and PC
  Support Manager.
• Sam Martin the Medical Liaison Librarian.
• Olwen Revill Liaison Librarian for the Faculty of
  Health Social Care Sciences.
• Christine Whittaker Project Manager, Mobile
  Technologies, Wandsworth PCT

3
Whats out there?

• Identifying users/extent of use
• What are their needs?
• What can we do to help?

4
Questionnaire results

• 83 returns
• 58 medical school (students and staff)
• 36 NHS
• 6 Faculty of Health Care (Nursing students,
  Physios, Radiographers)

5
Make of PDA

• Palms OS Handspring Visor/Treo, Sony CLIE, Palm
  Zire, Palm mXXX
• Pocket PC OS Casio, Compaq iPAQ, HP iPAQ,HP
  Jornada, Toshiba eXX
• Psions

6
Current use

• Diary/personal organiser
• patient tracker
• medical calculator
• games
• music
• note taking
• email via outlook
• as a reference e.g. using clinical texts

7
What they wanted to do

• Connect to the internet
• use flash cards
• use in ward rounds
• make better use of calendar, diary, email
• connect to medical school diary/phone book/email
• take patient information
• know more about security software

8
Focus groups

• Clinicians, consultants, PRHOs
• Medical students
• Nurses, PAMS, physios etc
• Admin, non medical

9
Outcomes from Focus groups

• Multidisciplinary
• lunchtime seminars
• free PDAs
• webpage of resources
• cradles in the library
• wireless network
• advice on purchasing
• technical help/troubleshooting

10
We were aiming for the following deliverables

• Virtual/physical support groups for people with
  handhelds.
• Webpage created of recommended software and
  hardware products for different medical
  disciplines based on personal experience of
  users.
• Identification of new products and services that
  Information Services can provide in order to
  support this rapidly expanding user population.
• Identification of existing services that can be
  improved for PDA users.
• A report outlining the project, methodology,
  results and giving recommendations for the use of
  PDAs and possible purchase of PDAs and PDA
  software by the Medical School, Trusts and
  Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences.

11
What we have done so far

• Set up initial focus groups
• email list
• lunchtime seminars
• web page of resources
• subscription to PDA magazine
• investigating new software of interest to health
  professionals

12

• Wireless networking to be set up in library
  study areas
• Cradles for downloads too problematic
• free PDAs no funding, but Alexis Medical found
  as a contact
• FAQ web page started for troubleshooting

13
Webpage
14
Helpsheet page
15
Tips on buying a PDA
16
Recommended downloads
17
Recommended downloads

• Books Grey book, Clinical Evidence
• Calculators Medcalc, Shots2004(pediatric
  immunization), Growth charts
• Drug info emims, eBNF, epocrates
• journals journals to go
• security patient tracker
• Clinical support systems ISABEL

18
Lunchtime seminars

• Yeg Myint, Kings School of Dentistry PDA
  project with Toshiba at Kings
• Nadya James Dept Pediatrics _at_ St Georges very
  knowledgable on Palms
• Anne Heath, Project Manager, Comwise NHS Project
  training Community Nurses in Wandsworth PCT to
  use Jornadas
• BNF demos
• Elsevier
• Alexis Medical marketing company giving out free
  PDAs to clinicians in return for marketing
  information
• Ovid _at_Hand demo
• Clinical Evidence demo

19
The future

• SW London PDA network
• Supporting PDA use across the WDC
• Libraries involved in up to date technology and
  with IMT depts e.g. wireless networks

20
Problems

• Junior doctors email dont use Trust emails
• Stimulating interest marketing appropriately
  keeping it going
• Finding a convenient time and place to meet
• Judging how many will turn up
• Getting IT on side their contributions are so
  useful

21
Time

• PDA network is very time intensive
• Need feedback and input from users in order to
  keep up impetus
• Infrequent dialogue with users outside study days
• At Mayday too many more pressing issues to give
  adequate time to PDA network at the moment
• Need a large working group to spread tasks

22
Time

• PDA network is a bit of a luxury ?
• Need a stable working environment for it to
  flourish
• However, using PDAs can save clinician time is
  this adequately recognised?
• PDA use is generated by individual interest not
  by Trust policy
• PDA viewed as passing technology ?

23
Encouraging participation

• Students are very keen and involved
• Other clinicians are harder to involve
• Either very keen or hard to pin down
• Community PCT staff are virtually impossible to
  recruit. Very small percentage of community and
  PCT staff represented at study days. This group
  actually uses PDAs for every day work

24
Reality

• Users need to be able to troubleshoot. IT
  problems with PDAs are not priority
• Some IT Managers do not like wireless networks
  and PDA technology
• PCs need to be able to support PDAs. All hospital
  PCs may not be adequate. Synchronisation may
  happen on limited PCs

25
Watch this space

• Currently PDA network is running but at
  strolling pace
• Developments at Mayday and across SW London WCD
  will be reported
• Any questions ?
• Sam Martin smartin_at_sghms.ac.uk
• 020 8725 5441
• Morag Clarkson Morag.Clarkson_at_mayday.nhs.uk
• 0208 401 3196