According to an informal survey conducted by MedCompanion Inc., medical student usage of handheld computers is poised for a dramatic increase over the next year. MedCompanion, a company that offers clinical handheld computing solutions to physicians, conducted the survey at the recent national meeting of the American Medical Student Association. In the MedCompanion survey, 22% of respondent medical students use handheld computers. When the remaining 78% were questioned about their attitudes towards handhelds, an overwhelming majority reported them to be very useful for both personal and professional data management. Three quarters of current non-users reported plans to buy handheld computers within the next year. This survey follows several large-scale handheld computer projects at medical schools, most notably one at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. At Wake Forest, medical students are provided with handhelds; and routinely use them for clinical information retrieval, scheduling, patient lists, and other tasks.
Medical student interest in handheld computers comes as no surprise to MedCompanion President and CEO Malcolm Lloyd, M.D., who states, "From the outset, our business development strategy has been to approach physicians across the entire continuum; including medical students, residents, and practicing physicians. This data verifies the robust interest in handheld computing displayed by medical students."
Although most medical students currently use their handheld computers for relatively basic tasks such as keeping addresses and a calendar, a growing number appear to be managing their clinical information needs via the handheld platform. Among medical student handheld computer users:
- 63% use medical textbooks condensed on the handheld
- 38% use prescription drug references
- 20% use a patient tracking program
- 13% use procedure logs
When asked what applications they don't currently use, but plan to in the future, 63% of students reported plans to use a patient tracking program and 38% had plans to use procedure logs and patient lists.
The overall picture is one of burgeoning interest in handheld computers among medical students. But the students don't want to stop with the basic applications described above. Nearly all students in the survey reported an interest in mobilizing their clinical activities to handheld computers. Ninety percent stated an interest in performing literature searches and retrieving medical articles from handheld computers, finding it to be more convenient than having to find a desktop or make a trip to the library. Ninety-eight percent want access to e-mail and news via the handheld. A smaller majority reported an interest in e-commerce activities, such as purchasing textbooks, via handheld computers. Several anecdotal comments were garnered from the survey. Students expressed desires to have clinical practice guidelines on handheld computers, to have an interface between handheld computers and the hospitals' clinical information systems, and to be able to write prescriptions and order labs with handheld computers.
It seems medical students are looking for not only short-term solutions from handheld computers, but rather an adaptable device which will meet their needs in a diverse range of educational and point-of-care clinical duties. They are forward thinking, focusing not just on those applications relevant to medical students, but also on solutions they will use as they become residents and practicing physicians. As the next generation of physicians, medical students offer a novel perspective, and one that suggests a vibrant future for mobile point-of-care clinical information technologies.