Accessing PDA Information
FIGURE
Many clinicians use personal digital assistants (PDAs) to access information on medical and nursing databases. PDAs allow you to locate drug information and dosages, and certain programs provide information on differential diagnoses, laboratory tests, and disease management. The following table provides a list of Internet resources for PDA applications.
PDA Internet Resources
Portal sites
PDA Cortex (http://www.rnpalm.com/)
An informative Web site that features information on health care information (nursing) and PDA use, including reviews, features, discussions, and articles.
pdaMD (http://www.pdamd.com/vertical/home.xml)
A leader in PDA and health care information that hosts articles, forums, product reviews, and a learning center.
Avantgo (http://avantgo.com/products/solutions/individuals.html)
A portal to myriad topics including health care. You can download directly into your PDA. Although the service is free, you must become a member.
Tutorial sites
How It Works (http://www.howstuffworks.com/pda.htm)
An introductory site that is particularly helpful to novice users.
Learning Center (http://www.pdamd.com/vertical/tutorials.xml)
A learning center that is helpful to novice users or those interested in PDAs.
Academic sites
University of Virginia (http://hsc.virginia.edu/hs-library/pda/home.html)
A frequently updated library page that includes Web site resources, portal links, application descriptions, discussion groups, and links to security applications.
Arizona State University (http://educ.ahsl.arizona.edu/pda/index.htm)
A library page that includes information on hardware, accessories, applications, library services, and a bibliography of PDAs in health literature and PDA grants.
Arlene W. Keeling, RN, PhD; Audrey Snyder, RN, ACNP, MSN; Tami H. Wyatt, RN, MSN; Patricia Biller Krauskopf, RN, FNP-C, MSN. Charlottesville, Va.
Patient Advocate Foundation
Established 6 years ago, the Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF) is a national, nonprofit organization that serves as an active liaison between patients and their insurers, employers, and creditors, resolving insurance issues, job discrimination, and debt crisis matters relative to diagnosis. PAF seeks to safeguard patients through effective mediation, assuring access to care, employment maintenance, and preservation of financial stability.
Direct Patient Services-Professional case managers, specializing in mediation, negotiation, and education on behalf of patients. Some issues included are preauthorization; insurance appeal; access to pharmaceutical agents, chemotherapy, medical devices and surgical procedures; and application to Social Security Disability, Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIPS. PAF can assist patients in 140 languages.
National Legal Resource Network-Legal counseling and referral services for patients confronting insurance denial and employment discrimination and those needing support with public assistance programs through state and federal agencies.
Visit the PAF Web site http://www.patientadvocate.org for current information on PAF services; access to professional case managers; on-line educational program registration; chat sessions with national, nonprofit organization leaders; and a monthly newsletter.
For additional information, contact: Patient Advocate Foundation 753 Thimble Shoals Blvd., Suite B, Newport News, VA 23606, 1-800-532-5274.