A pediatrician's personal digital assistant: Ubiquitous computing

Personal digital assistants (PDAs) can provide a portable, integrated platform for point-of-care clinical reference, patient management, and data communication for pediatricians practicing in an ambulatory or hospital setting. Clinical reference programs within the PDA can allow pediatricians to access information from the Internet and anticipatory guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Patient management programs allow pediatricians to access and store clinical information. Wireless technologies, such as the PDA, have potential for rapid exchange of clinical laboratory results and efficient electronic patient information transfers. Thus, these devices provide the potential for true continuity of care across all aspects of general pediatrics. In this article we present the basic hardware, operating system, and applications of the PDA for the contemporary pediatrician.