DHTS Announces Epocrates Changes

Epocrates users take note: DHTS is not renewing the site license for the Epocrates premium products. Existing licenses will still be valid for 1 year from date renewed / initiated.

The original notice from DHTS follows:
Please Note! Beginning Thursday, October 1, 2009, Duke Health Technology Solutions will migrate from the Epocrates Essentials Suite of applications to the free mobile products offered by Epocrates: Epocrates Rx, MobileCME, Epocrates Medtools, and Epocrates Mobile Resource Center. When your existing Epocrates Essentials license expires, on your next sync, you should automatically switch over to the free Epocrates Products. New or renewed licenses before September 30, 2009, will be valid for one year from the date of initiation.

For those requesting Epocrates for the first time after September 30, you will need to go to the Epocrates Website, https://www.epocrates.com/products/rx/ , and walk through the steps to download the free Epocrates Mobile applications. If you are interested in any of the additional features available through Epocrates, you will need to purchase those applications through Epocrates.

Finally, if you have any additional questions, you should first contact your Local LAN Administrator. Mobile Computing will also provide a link to the Epocrates Website as well on our home page, pda.duhs.duke.edu.

Tech Time with Dr. Adams

Can it be that we've reached the convergence of handheld devices - my pager, phone, email, and web access? And, what's happened to "voice over IP?"

Are interns really getting smartphones?

Recent hearsay from med students who are interviewing for internships is that several institutions are handing out smartphones to interns - Harvard, Columbia, and Penn, the Treo, iPhone, and Blackberry. Is this really true?

Testimonial
Personally I own a Blackberry Pearl and I'm very satisfied because of the physical keyboard. But, I also carry an iPod Touch in my opposite pocket because the Apple apps are just too tempting. Not to mention, ePocrates Essentials, the drug look-up, is now available for Touch and iPhone and Duke gives me free access to the ePocrates upgrade. The smartphone supports my personal space/workflow - I can forward my pager to the phone, check my email and look up something on the fly via the web browser.

Quick Reads
Both major financial newspapers have reputable resources for quick reviews of personal technology, including videos:

• WSJ, Walt Mossberg
  http://online.wsj.com/


• NYT, David Pogue and Matt Richtell
  http://www.nytimes.com/

Here I am, first time in the blogosphere myself. Will I regret?
~Martha Adams, MD