Pediatric PDA Blog

I know several pediatricians who have jumped into the PDA world without ever knowing anything about computers and PCs.

Well, this is certianly not going to work. Any PDA is not useful unless accompanied by a PC available at home and thats why Palm provides the hotsync program for Palm based devices and Microsoft created Activesync program for Windows Mobile devices.

The connection with the desktop is essential for many reason and here is list of some of these reasons:

1. In order to install programs (to make your device a pediatric PDA!) you need a desktop PC with internet connection so that programs can be downloaded from the net to the PDA; the exception to this rule is that some developers provide CAB files that can be downloaded right into the PDA for devices with internet connection and browsing capability but this is usually rare and is not secure as in the case of PC installation.
2. Several Pediatric programs such as Epocrates, Merck Medicus, Skyscape, and others provide regular updates to their resources and this is very easy and fast when the PDA is synchronized to the desktop with the latter connected to the internet; the exception to that is when some programs like Epocrates Essentials can be updated wirelessly without PC connection.
3. All personal data such as contacts, appointments, and notes are safer and easier to be accessed and edited when they are synchronized with the desktop computer like for example when the PDA is lost or damaged all these programs and data can be reintalled into another PDA.
4. The Desktop PC allows better control over the PDA with more advanced functions.

One of the most stressful events that a pediatrician might face during night calls and office hours is a jammed non functioning PDA!

Not infrequently the handheld may suddenly turn into a useless piece of metal

The Windows Mobile and the Palm platforms are alike in this regard, a hard reset whether accidental or due to battery death (Pre 5.0 Windows Mobile OS’es) or perhaps because of the so many user installed programs that we all crave for and happy to mount!

This event will erase not only all the intsalled programs but also it will wipe out whatever PIM (Personal Information Management) data we have on our handhelds; so suddenly you are unable to look up a drug, unable to calculate a formula, unable to read your favorite pediatric eBook, and even unable to call your wife “commonly we don’t memorize phone numbers in the this digital era” even!

The solution for such a disaster is to equip our handhelds with a backup restore utility so that we immediately revive our handhelds to the previous setting immediately.

These programs will backup the device (automatically or manually) at a regular basis and keep the backup file on a storage card so that all device settings, PIM data, third party programs can be restored in the event of data loss.

Here are two popular examples of such programs

1- Spb Backup from spbsoftwarehouse

2- Sprite Backup from spritesoftware.com

One might argue that the readily available ActiveSync (versions before 4.x) might do the job, but in fact I tried that on several devices and the answer is simply that IT IS NOT WORKING!