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ffe bexn ii ojj sjjmgi jix1tb economist suntribune health thursday jan 10 2002 is patients in palms oftheir hands handheld computers experiencing strong growth in canadian healthcare industry by lisa queen staff writer york region doctors are part of a growing trend of physicians turning to hand held computers to help them practise medicine theyre definitely worth the price of admission said newmarkets dr carter thome showing off the features of his personal dig ital assistant or pda at southlake regional health centre tuesday thorne isnt alone in his admiration of palm pilots handhelds are being used to educate train reduce errors enhance practice efficiencies manage supply orders and store and quickly retrieve large amounts of medical information michael moskowitz president palm canada v according sto the l canadian medical association more than 25 riper cent of doctors under the age of 35 have used the technology in clinical prac- jice by 2005 more than 50 per cent of canadian physi cians are expected to be using the handhelds k palm handhelds have experienced strong growth tin the canadian healthcare industry this year a trend fthat appears to be gaining jmomentum michael moskowitz president of palm canada said in a news release this week handhelds are being cused to educate train reduce errors enhance practice efficiencies man- jage supply orders and store and quickly retrieve large amounts of medical infor mation v at torontos mount sinai hospital for example doc tors in the critical care unit collect and share patient information using the devices the technology allows physicians to quickly pick up the latest results about a patient when they come on shift they can also use the handhelds to instantly check the most recent facts about medications thorne who paid the 300 for his handheld out of his own pocket now cant imagine working without the small computer i use them all day every day i find it to be invalu able stressing security codes are needed to access patients charts thorne said the handhelds can be used for getting the latest lab results on individual patients accessing the most recent alerts from the us- based federal drug administration crossreferencing the effects of prescribing more than one medication assessing the impact of a prescription on differ ent types of patients for example how it affects a fit young man compared to an elderly underweight woman with kidney prob lems dr steve pearl a king city doctor who works at york central hospital in richmond hill also uses the technology he sees many benefits to the handhelds including their portability and access to medical information its something like hav ing a medical library in your hand you dont have to leave the bedside to retrieve information from a textbook its something like having a medical library in your hand dr steve pearl york region doctor but pearl pointed out there are restrictions including the small screen and limited memory and like any fad he said there are some physicians who have embraced the technology and others who dont find it helpful pearl says the hand- helds are more likely to be used at least for the time being at teaching hospitals and hmos the organiza- staff photoerin riley dr steve pearlis one of a growing number of doctors using palm pilots as a rescource tool at his family practice in king city tions that manage health care services in the united states because there are more likely to be specific standards that interns and physicians must follow markham stouffville hospital president dr jim maclean saida number of physicians at the hospital use pdas on a regular basis to access information such as diagnostic and treatment guidelines but until the technology improves he cautioned there are limitations in the meantime the hospital is relying on other technology as a hospital we will be implementing our wireless network this april at that time we will begin to elec tronically document patient information at the point of care maclean said we do not feel that handheld devices have progressed to the point they can be used for this pur pose and we will be using cows computers on wheels hopefully hand- helds will continue to develop so that we can readily use them at the bedside for recording as well as accessing specific patient information in the future info box sptitlight young sports if youre a coach with ah interesting story to tell or if you know of a local sports notable who deserves recognition we want to hear from you well be highlighting young athletes in a new- feature spotlight and exploring coaching issues with the people on the sidelines contact us by email at mhayakawaeconsuncom or fax at 905 2941538 inside alure of ice fishing people are spending more money on the sport these days its not unusual to see ice fisher men equipped with sonar units gps gravitational positioning systems and small ice fishing graphite rods instead of the old wooden tipups and youre seeing more anglers wearing better clothing like orange floater suits to battle the elements sports editor mike hayakawa takes a look at the modernday ice fisher in bur sports recreation section starting on page 16 upcoming just walking in the wrioavor as a competitive sport orien teering is gaining popularity staff writer amy west spends a morning roaming the country side with competitive orienteer ing enthusiast winnie stott in next thursdays sports recreation section surfincity g tf wwwweddmgvvizardcom planning to tie the knot but having trouble getting organ ized the wedding wizard offers free online personal organizfe services to registered users by setting up an account you will be able to view a checklist track your guests events expenses gifts invitations print reports and create a web page for your guests to view you will also have access to message boards to chat with other bride and grooms-to- be lists of wedding venues caterers photographers and bridal boutiques in your area