St George’s PDA Network: why the need?

1. St George’s 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. Projectstaff • Helen Alper : NHS Liaison Librarian. Promotes the interests of all NHS staff within the library. • James Boman from the St. George’s 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. What’s 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, King’s School of Dentistry: PDA project with Toshiba at Kings • Nadya James: Dept Pediatrics @ St George’s 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 @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 IM&T depts e.g. wireless networks

20. Problems • Junior doctors email – don’t 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 tospread 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@sghms.ac.uk 020 8725 5441 • Morag Clarkson Morag.Clarkson@mayday.nhs.uk • 0208 401 3196