RxInformatics.com

PracticeRx by Doctor’s Digest delivers real time breaking news about medication safety (including instant alerts and hazard alerts of National Importance) to your iPhone/iPod Touch, PLUS the latest practice management and medication safety tips and instant error reporting tools from Doctor's Digest and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP).

Doctor’s Digest and ISMP Essential Practice Tips, with links to FREE ISMP medication safety material, and in-depth information on the same or other practice-management topics at www.doctorsdigest.net. Tips will be uploaded twice weekly and are based on cutting-edge information from over 1,600 thought leaders and experts from the Doctor's Digest practice management medical journal and the latest medication safety expertise from ISMP, available in text, audio and video format.

MERP - Medication Errors Reporting Program – - A direct link to a HIPAA-compliant error reporting form from ISMP with three options right from this App: NOW…report errors via one-touch direct dial directly to ISMP, leave a voice-recording, or complete a HIPAA-compliant form.

ISMP – MedSafety Alerts -- Audio Alert accompaniment of urgent drug alerts in real time.

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Very cool [free] new application for iPhone - and, eventually, for the iPad - that has built int medication safety information and reporting from ISMP.

Epocrates®, Inc., today announced its top-ranked clinical reference application for the iPhone® and iPod® touch devices will be customized for the new iPad™ computer tablet. The iPad is already receiving a warm reception from the healthcare industry with nearly 20 percent of clinicians expressing plans to purchase in an Epocrates survey conducted days after the Apple announcement.

"By optimizing our software for the iPad, we are capitalizing on the larger screen real estate and interactivity provided by this sophisticated device. We are committed to providing the most productive experience at the point of care, keeping physicians informed and focused on the patient rather than searching for answers," said Rose Crane, chief executive officer of Epocrates. "We are continuing to explore the advanced capabilities of the iPad and ways it can help Epocrates address the evolving healthcare technology needs."

In addition to announcing its engineers are using Apple's SDK to optimize Epocrates' offerings for the iPad, Epocrates surveyed more than 350 clinicians to gauge their interest in the new tablet. Findings include:

• Nine percent of survey respondents plan to buy the iPad when it was immediately available,
• Another 13 percent plan to buy it within the year,
• Thirty-eight percent of respondents expressed interest in the iPad with the request of more information to solidify their purchase decision.

I suspect that we'll see a lot of uptake by providers, however, I wonder if our health-systems' IT infrastructures are ready for the demand?

Nintendo Co. and Apple Inc. are helping drugmakers find new ways to get their products to customers as health-policy changes and new technologies force them to move beyond traditional marketing methods, audit firm Ernst & Young said in a report today.

Bayer AG, Germany’s biggest pharmaceutical company, has hooked its Didget glucometer to Nintendo’s video-gaming devices to encourage children with diabetes to monitor their blood sugar regularly. Johnson & Johnson is working with Apple to create an iPhone application that allows patients to upload and share their glucometer data.

Once again, another great opportunity for informatics pharmacists - and other clinicians - to help meet the needs of industry while making sure these types of projects are beneficial to unmet patient needs.

But for doctors treating patients with chronic diseases, text messaging can be an invaluable tool, according to Johns Hopkins Children’s Center pediatrician Delphine Robotham. “For better or worse, this technology is here,” she said, “and sending a text to a patient’s cell phone about an upcoming appointment or a test, or simply to remind them to take their meds, is a great example of how we can harness new communication technology for a greater good.”

Research has shown that up to half of patients may fail to take their daily medication properly, with forgetting being a top reason for nonadherence so, at least in some cases, a text reminder may be all that a patient needs, added Robotham, who has encouraged the use of appropriate texting among pediatricians at Johns Hopkins.

Several recent studies have looked at use of SMS (short message service, or text messaging) in a medical context, Robotham notes. For example, one study involving children with diabetes showed improved blood glucose testing rates among those using it. These children were also more likely to share their blood glucose test readings with their doctor’s office. In another study, patients on immunosuppressive drugs after a liver transplant had improved medication adherence. The liver study detected measurable clinical benefits from text messaging: Acute liver rejection episodes dropped dramatically as a result of better medication adherence. Chronic conditions that require daily medication, such as HIV, asthma and TB, or daily testing, such as diabetes, are great candidates for “SMS therapy,” Robotham said.

HITSP Chair Dr. John Halamka: “The iPad comes closer to my requirements than other devices on the market. However, the ideal clinical device would include a camera for clinical photography and video teleconferencing. Entering data via the touch screen with gloved hands may be challenging on a capacitance touch screen. Holding the iPad with one hand means hunt and peck typing with the remaining hand. The device is a bit large for a white coat pocket, may be hard to disinfect, and may not be tolerant of dropping onto a hospital floor. I look forward to trying one to validate these assumptions. My general impression is that it is not perfect for healthcare, but it is closer than other devices I’ve tried.” More (John D. Halamka, MD, MS is CIO of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, CIO and Dean for Technology at Harvard Medical School, Chairman of the New England Health Electronic Data Interchange Network (NEHEN), CEO of MA-SHARE, Chair of the US Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP), and a practicing emergency physician.)

Mountain View-based El Camino Hospital Vice Chief of Clinical Operations, Cheryl Reinking: “You could use this [iPad] in the operating room, when you need to document things quickly, or in the lab,” Reinking told the SF Chronicle. “Physicians could use the device at the bedside to make notes, or use it as a reference for medications. It could be an amazing tool.” More