This document provides information about a workshop on handheld computers for doctors hosted by Alexis Medical Limited. It includes an agenda for guest speaker Dr. Mohammed Al-Ubaydli who will discuss the use of handheld computers in healthcare. Several medical software tools and tutorials are also listed. The document aims to demonstrate how handheld computers can improve clinical practice.

1. Alexis Medical Limited
Handheld computers for doctors workshop
Date: December 9th 2004

2. Alexis Medical Workshop
Handheld computers for doctors workshop
9th December 2004
Handheld computers for doctors
• Book – ISBN 0470858990 – www.handheldsfordoctors.com/book
Guest Speaker at
• Web site – www.handheldsfordoctors.com/learn
Alexis Medical -
• Shopping advice – www.handheldsfordoctors.com/shop
PDA Workshop
BMJ review
Summary points Day.
• Handheld computers are suited to clinical practice because they are
small, affordable, and easy to use; can read handwriting; and have a long
battery life
• They can run a wide range of medical software
• The devices support clinical teamwork by making it easy to share Dr Mohammed
information with other clinicians' PCs and handheld computers
• Ensuring security of your patients' data is vital and requires some effort
• Make sure your budget includes money for software, textbooks, and
Al-Ubaydli
hardware expansions
Al-Ubaydli M, BMJ . 2004 May 15;328(7449):1181-4
Example projects
• QEH hematology department – chapter 12 of “Handheld computers for
doctors” and as a paper: Mohammad Al-Ubaydli, Laura Deans:
Introduction Of Handheld Computers Into The Haematology Department
Of A District General Hospital. The Internet Journal of Pediatrics and
Neonatology. 2003. Volume 3 Number 1. http://www.mo.md/id155.htm
• QEH family practice – chapter 13 of “Handheld computers for doctors”.
We discussed with the GPs instances when the practice's reliance on
paperwork was most irritating to the doctors. Three areas became
apparent: 1 - The personal development plan; 2 - Tracking of expenses; 3
- The cataloguing of useful clinical literature.
http://www.handheldsfordoctors.com/book/text/chapter13.htm
Tutorials
• Installing Software -
www.pdamd.com/vertical/tutorials/guides/installsoftware.xml
• Beaming data - www.pdamd.com/vertical/tutorials/beaming.xml
Alexis Medical Limited
The Information contained in this document or any attachment is confidential and/or legally privileged. This document is intended to be reviewed by the intended recipient only. In no
way whatsoever is any information in this document to be passed on, disseminated or copied to any organisation outside of that which the intended recipient is employed.

3. Biography
Mohammad Al-Ubaydli is a
Tools
doctor and programmer who
• HanDBase – a fully featured relational database. The “relational” bit uses IT to improve healthcare.
means it can elegantly handle complex information, and is the
standard for database programs on PCs. To have squeezed these He has worked for several
capabilities into the confines of a PDA was impressive in the early institutions and companies
days of underpowered Palm models. Pervious versions have
efficiently handled data creation, storage and searching. Through the around the UK and the USA,
infrared beam, beaming and printing were also possible. The new
version improves the interface for all these features, making most including the development of
tasks easier, or simpler. the software for Project Palm
http://www.handheldsfordoctors.com/learn/organisation/handba
se3review.htm at Cambridge University, which
• RepliGo - the Acrobat Reader program on handheld computers is allowed medical students to
awful. RepliGo does the job much better. First, the conversion is share their learning using
intuitive and quick as you simply print the document, and choose
RepliGo as your printer. Second, the software's text reflow and handhelds. In 2001 he co-
rotated icons are intelligently programmed to allow better readability
of the document on a small device. founded Medical Approaches,
http://www.handheldsfordoctors.com/learn/ebooks/repligo.htm which published the world's
first peer-reviewed electronic
• InfoPOEMs – a database system of filtered, synopsized, evidence-
based information. InfoRetriever searches a full spectrum of medical text, available for all
evidence-based content and tools: all POEMs and Cochrane handheld platforms. In 2003 he
Systematic Review abstracts, more than 140 decision support tools,
more than 1,800 diagnostic calculators supporting selection and wrote quot;Handheld Computers
interpretation of diagnostic tests and the H&P, and over 700
summaries of evidence-based practice guidelines. Plus, the full 5- for Doctorsquot;, which gained 4/4
Minute Clinical Consult, and more. stars from the BMJ. He is now
http://www.infopoems.com/
a Visiting Research Fellow at
• DatePak – DatePak allows you to share calendars with the rest of
your team. It is a simple idea, but it solves a big problem well. When the National Centre for
junior doctors join a hospital, they are inundated with leaflets about Biotechnology Information at
teaching sessions. They are also advised to constantly check several
locations where new information about teaching sessions will be the National Institutes of
announced. Of course, doctors have a busy schedule, and they are
not expected to be able to attend every session. But with such an Health (NIH) in the USA.
intensive training, it is a real shame to miss sessions through not
being aware of the schedule.
http://www.handheldsfordoctors.com/learn/organisation/datepak email: me@mo.md
.htm
• Customising intranets for handheld computers – Al-Ubaydli, M:
Principles for designing hospital intranets for handheld computer
web: www.mo.md
user. Vine 2003: 33; issue 2. In print. This was based on original
article, published at:
http://www.handheldsfordoctors.com/learn/wireless/principles.htm
Alexis Medical Limited
The Information contained in this document or any attachment is confidential and/or legally privileged. This document is intended to be reviewed by the intended recipient only. In no
way whatsoever is any information in this document to be passed on, disseminated or copied to any organisation outside of that which the intended recipient is employed.

4. Making your Handheld Secure
Mohammad Al-Ubaydli
email mo@mo.md web http://www.mo.md
“The only real security that a man will have in this world is a
reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.”
Henry Ford (1863 – 1947)
The male changing room in the surgical theatre of my clinical school
has a security camera. I know this because my Palm Pilot was stolen
from me during my time as a clinical student, and the camera spotted
the thief. When the police returned my machine, I found that all my data
was lost. The data loss was planned, because I had installed security
software.
There are several levels at which you can make your data safe on your
handheld. The main point, however, is that the existing software that
comes with your machine does not provide any reliable security.
Furthermore when you connect your handheld computer to your
personal computer, the data is copied to there as well, so you must
secure both machines.
To start with, you can password-protect your handheld computer. For
Palm-compatible machines, TealLock1 provides excellent security, and
the equivalent on Pocket PC machines is SafeGuard PDA2. Both can
lock the machine after a specific period (15 minutes is a ward round-
friendly duration) and can be unlocked quickly by the correct user (the
keypad is thumb-friendly).
The next layer of protection is to secure particular data of your
handheld. For example eWallet3 requires a password before granting
access to my credit cards details, while HanDBase4 allows password-
protection of my clinical databases. Both are available for the Palm and
Pocket PC, and both encrypt the data.
In the long run, however, security of data might be improved by wireless
networks. These would allow the sensitive data to be stored on a
central computer, which would only be accessed through password-
protected machines within range. Once outside this range (for example
when a clinician takes their handheld home) the data would no longer
be on the handheld computer.
An alternative aspect to security is protection from viruses. At the
moment, there are few viruses that target handheld computers, and
most of them enter the machines when they connect to personal
computers. That’s why most anti-viral packages, such as those by
Norton and McAfee, monitor the connection for malicious code. But
there is still the risk of viruses when two handheld computers connect
to each other through their infra-red beams. Software is already
available that monitors this route5, at considerable expense.
Alexis Medical Limited
The Information contained in this document or any attachment is confidential and/or legally privileged. This document is intended to be reviewed by the intended recipient only. In no
way whatsoever is any information in this document to be passed on, disseminated or copied to any organisation outside of that which the intended recipient is employed.

5. But perhaps the most important defense against such dangers may well
be education. Kevin Mitnick, one of the world’s most notorious hackers,
was able to access so much “secure” computer data because he
manipulated the humans who were using the computers6. They
routinely gave him their passwords.
Such education begins with risk analysis. The team involved in
deploying the handhelds should consider the gaps in security; take
reasonable steps to plug the gaps; and most importantly, educate the
end users about the gaps. The NHS Information Authority provides a
rather useful toolkit7 for going through these steps, as part of
compliance with British Standard 7799. Good security must include
good habits, such as holding onto your machine rather than leaving it in
the surgical theatre changing rooms.
1. TealLock: http://www.tealinfo.com
2. SafeGuard PDA: http://www.utimaco.com
3. eWallet: http://www.iliumsoft.com
4. HanDBase: http://www.ddhsoftware.com
5. F-secure: http://www.f-secure.com
6. K Mitnick, W Simon, The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human
Element of Security, ISBN 0471237124
7. Available on request from the NHSIA’s Security Risk Manager, Tom
Lillywhite tom.lillywhite@nhsia.nhs.uk
Mohammad Al-Ubaydli is the author of Handheld computers for doctors
Alexis Medical Limited
The Information contained in this document or any attachment is confidential and/or legally privileged. This document is intended to be reviewed by the intended recipient only. In no
way whatsoever is any information in this document to be passed on, disseminated or copied to any organisation outside of that which the intended recipient is employed.

6. Handheld Computers For Doctors
NEW!
This book champions the idea that handheld computers have a
significant role to play in the future of clinical practice. It shows why and
how palm devices can help reduce paperwork, and how to use the
technology without waiting for the IT department's latest expensive,
complicated and overdue solution.
If you work in hospital or community medicine, you can take advantage
of technology that is affordable, powerful, easy and effective. Handheld
computers can be used for education, administration and clinical
practice, and in association with colleagues to support communication
and teamwork.
Addresses the uses of handheld computers in clinical practice
Explains the basics of handheld technology in everyday
language
Outlines all possible applications of handheld computers in a
medical setting
Features case studies within three different medical groups Authors/Editors
Provides guidance for introducing handheld technology to
colleagues MOHAMMAD
AL-UBAYDLI
CONTENTS:
Section One: Why Star Trek is science past. So, you'd like a handheld.
National Institutes of
Choosing hardware. Choosing software for yourself. Organizing your Health, Bethesda,
life. Taking lecture notes. Keeping track of patient details. Medical
references. Reading electronic books. Games for ward rounds. Carrying Maryland, USA
the web with you. Handhelds for patients.
Section Two: Why two handhelds are better than one. Case 1 - The
haematology department. Case 2 - The General Practice surgery. Case
3 - The acute medicine department. Bibliographic
Section Three: On being a project champion. Making change happen.
Talking to the IT department. Choosing software for the team. Training.
Information
Electronic documents. Getting the funding.
Appendix: Accompanying website. ISBN: 0-470-85899-0
Index.
Pub. Date: March 2003
Who should read the title?
Format: Paperback
Professionals - doctors, nurses, hospital managers, clinical IT staff and
medical librarians around the world. Price: £19.99 €29.90
Also of interest to undergraduate nurses and doctors wanting to
organise their education and career.
www.handheldsfordoctors.com
The Information contained in this document or any attachment is confidential and/or legally privileged. This document is intended to be reviewed by the intended recipient only. In no
way whatsoever is any information in this document to be passed on, disseminated or copied to any organisation outside of that which the intended recipient is employed.

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