The Wireless Future of Medicine

Check out this TED talk on using mobile devices in health care. See some of the technology that can "take individualized medicine to a new height."

Eric Topol says we'll soon use our smartphones to monitor our vital signs and chronic conditions. At TEDMED, he highlights several of the most important wireless devices in medicine's future -- all helping to keep more of us out of hospital beds.

Eric Topol: The wireless future of medicine (17 min video)

More Medical Apps for the iPhone

In last week's New York Times, technology writer David Pogue discussed some of his favorite applications for the iPhone / iPod Touch including applications for patients and doctors. His list included some known favorites like ePocrates, but also had some new suggestions that hint at what the future might hold, such as AirStrip OB, which allows an OB to monitor a fetal heartbeat from across the hospital and OsiriX, a medical image viewer.

Do you have favorites not on this list? Let us know by commenting or emailing us at mclref[at]mc.duke.edu.

New H1N1 Resource for your iPhone

Get the latest information on the H1N1 Influenza A Vaccine with WebMD's free drug app for your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Features:

• Look up adult/pediatric dosing information
• Learn about the adverse affects, cautions, and drug interactions
• See information for pregnant and lactating women

This app has drug information for over 6,000 generics and brands as well as OTC medications and supplements.

Go to http://www.medscape.com/public/iphone to download the Medscape app.

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.

Go Mobile!

If you have a Blackberry, iPod Touch, iPhone, or wireless PDA, you can now access a mobile version of the Library's Website. Search PubMed, use a medical calculator, read an article, or look up a quick clinical question in Dynamed. It will all be at your fingertips!

Bookmark us! http://www.mclibrary.duke.edu/m

Tech Time with Dr. Adams

Don't look now, "social networking" influences are everywhere.

Did you see the CNN clip about surgeons at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit using Twitter? Or the recent Newsweek report about drug companies using social networking to recruit patients for clinical trials? Others are vying for us physicians to engage with online networking, both WebMD and a new player, Sermo.

Twitter is one of my favorites. Whether professional or consumer oriented, seems to me, the value of Twitter is connecting the user to niche kinds of information. Jeff Loo (Information Science PhD candidate) tells me the #1 use of Twitter is about getting an answer to a question, for example, an answer needed by a med student study group or a "patients like me" group. The surgeons at Henry Ford Hospital used Twitter to send a live "tweet" during an OR procedure to get the message out about a new procedure.

Do look for Duke in the social networking sphere with Duke iTunes, Duke YouTube, and a new mobile app, DukeMobile!

Causes me to take note. Our current medical students have grown up with social networking. It's the norm. And, in case you haven't noticed, even Diane Rehm allows listeners to send a "tweet" during her popular daily NPR show. It's all about connecting.

Martha Adams, MD
Blog entry #2

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

From the Literature: Peanut Product Recall Blog

The FDA, CDC and HHS have partnered to create a new way to share information about the peanut recall - the Peanut Product Recall Blog. This blog was designed to foster communication and conversations, as well as provide ongoing information about the peanut butter and peanut-containing product recalls and outbreak investigations. The blog also contains links to podcasts and other social media methods. Moreover, the blog represents a transparent and low-cost way to share medical and public health information with clinicians and consumers quickly and easily. The blog also cuts across traditional bureaucratic lines: it will include posts from CDC, FDA and HHS representatives.

Of potential help to consumers and clinicians alike: the frequently updated map: "Investigation of Outbreak of Infections Caused by Salmonella Typhimurium 2008-2009" and the link to the product recall list.

What other kinds of medical information do you think could be published or shared in this way?

Google Flu Trends

How does Google Flu Trends work?
Google believes that certain search terms are good indicators of flu activity. Google Flu Trends uses aggregated Google search data to estimate flu activity by state.

Each week, millions of users around the world search for online health information. As you might expect, there are more flu-related searches during flu season, more allergy-related searches during allergy season, and more sunburn-related searches during the summer. You can explore all of these phenomena using Google Trends.

Can search query trends provide an accurate, reliable model of real-world phenomena?

Calling all Bloggers and Writers!

Interested in exploring issues in medicine, nursing, information, research and education? Here is your opportunity! The Medical Center Library is seeking guest bloggers for the Library's Crossroads blog. Topics for posts could include:

• making evidence-based practice a reality
• spotlighting significant new articles from the literature
• using technology in health care
• life as a student or clinician
• other topics of interest

No previous blogging experience required! Guest bloggers will receive free interlibrary loan privileges or copy cards for their participation.

Interested? Questions? Contact Megan von Isenburg at megan.vonisenburg@duke.edu or (919) 660-1131.

Medpedia Coming Soon

Wikipedia for Medicine?

It's coming. Medpedia promises to be the most comprehensive and collaborative medical resource in the world -- a freely available, authoritative online resource for health and medicine. But instead of allowing just anyone to edit its pages, Medpedia requires that anyone who edits or contributes content has an M.D. or a Ph.D. in the biomedical sciences. There is currently a call for participation for organizations to contribute content and for medical professionals to become members. Get involved at http://www.medpedia.com/index.php/Main_Page.

The site is expected to launch in later 2008. For now, there are a few sample pages online at http://www.medpedia.com/index.php/Special:Preview.

Can it live up to its stated goal -- "to create an invaluable clearinghouse for all the best medical information that cuts across disciplines, socio-economic status and geography to provide valuable medical information to anyone, anywhere, at any time"?

Cool New Applications for the iPhone

Do you have a new iPhone? If so, check out this Wired.com list of new science applications for the iPhone. Especially of interest:

• Netter's Anatomy Flash Cards - Make your iPhone educational with this handy way to brush up on your anatomy ($39.95)
  
• ePocrates - The drug resource you already use, now formatted for the iPhone (free)
  
• Genetic Decoder - Input RNA codons and get back amino acid information (free)
  
• Molecules - Download and view 3-D molecules (free)
  

A full list of all applications for the iPhone can be found in the iTunes Store (note: this link opens the iTunes Store, so you must have iTunes on your computer for this link to work.)

New PDA Resources Added

The Library added new resources to the PDA Subject Guide. These new applications are designed for medical students, residents and physicians interested in emergency medicine. There are applications for risk stratifying patients with decision rules, scores and calculators and additional applications for the management of sepsis, stroke and heart attacks. All programs are free and available under the Pro Palm software listings.

We are also getting ready to add more information on smartphones like iPhones and Blackberries. Have a tip or application you'd like to recommend to your colleagues?
Let us know!

Making the Most of Google Maps...

Google Maps has completed their Street View maps of the Triangle area! You may have seen a Google car driving slowly through neighborhoods capturing this data awhile ago. Now you can search for an address and click on the street view option. Next time you know you'll be looking for a specific house or business, view a picture of it before you head out the door. If you are wondering what this means, click on this Google Map link to see the library in Street View mode.

Traveling to a conference? This tool can help you get a sense of where your hotel is, get some early sightseeing accomplished, or find out exactly where a restaurant is located. You can "walk" up or down the street, turn 360°, or zoom in to get a better view. Over 25 cities have been completed, check out this map to see which US cities have been done.

For more on how to use Google Map Street View, watch this short video.

Happy Sightseeing!

Facebook and MySpace...We're Out There!

If you...

• Love our helpful reference librarians available in person, via telephone, email or IM (buddy name: dumclref)
• Access a database to help you answer a clinical question, assist in your research, or finish an assignment
• Read an electronic book or journal at home

Then you might just be a Duke University Medical Center Library fan!

Click on the link and become our next Facebook fan today!

http://duke.facebook.com/profile.php?id=6326259677

You can see upcoming classes, read our blog, and connect to others through the Library.

~~~~~~
We're also on MySpace! Become a friend today!
Visit us at: http://www.myspace.com/dumcl

CIT Announces New Grants for Faculty and Instructors

Looking to incorporate new technologies into your teaching? There's still time to apply for grant opportunities through CIT, the Center for Instructional Technology. The deadline for these grants is January 31, 2008.

1. Strategic Initiative Grants support instructional innovations with technology, tied to Duke's strategic plan "Making a Difference." In particular, Chapter 4 of the plan "Academic Goals and Strategies to Build Distinction" focuses on academic and instructionally-related goals which CIT would like to support, such as interdisciplinarity, student engagement in real-world issues, providing engaging and challenging learning experiences for students, transforming the arts, supporting our graduate students, and innovation in creation and delivery of scholarly resources. Information about the grant and examples of potential projects are linked below.
Due date: January 31, 2008.

2. Blackboard Great Ideas Mini-grant seeks submissions of Bb uses which work well from all disciplines, in order to create examples and models for other Duke faculty. If you use one or more Blackboard tools in a way which works for you and your course, your colleagues would like to know!
Due date: January 31, 2008.

In addition, CIT continues to offer Jump Start Mini-grants and Faculty Fellowships, as well as non-funding support such as consulting, help with materials development and training. Visit their Website for more information at http://cit.duke.edu/help/grants