BMJ  2004;328:1565 (26 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7455.1565-a

Letter

Handheld computers in clinical practice

... and will appeal to new breed of general practitioners

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Our age is electronic whether we like it or not.^{1 2} The amount of information available through the internet to both doctors and patients is phenomenal. I have two handheld devices, one operates on Palm and the other Windows CE.

I carry medical information around on these devices that would be impossible to carry in paper form, such as reference books, journals, and software to calculate a patient's body mass index or peak flow rate.

The scope for the use of handhelds is extensive, and because of their size they are much easier to carry around than laptops. Backing up data is very important, and limits to their use depend on people's attitudes to use of computers or electronic devices in general.

Many options are available for most devices, to cater for different uses and preferences. Prices are no longer a barrier, and storage on most devices can be . . . [Full text of this article]

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