Knowledgebase May Revolutionize the Way You
Utilize and Share Content
When was the last time, while interviewing a client, riding on
public transportation, driving in your car, or simply being away
from your PC, did you have a need or want a mental nudge to have
current up to date information? What was your solution? Did you
jot the requested topic on a yellow sticky, enter the information
in your to do list on your handheld or just hoped that the thought
would remain in the memory brain files long enough to rush back
to your PC or call your health sciences research specialist to
do a search? No need to rely on any haphazard approach. Just call
up CogniQ.
So what is this CogniQ? CogniQ is a comprehensive
Mobile Knowledge Management solution offered by Unbound
Medicine.
CogniQ is an enterprise subscription service offering
a variety of solutions to assist the mobile professional. You
have the ability to select relevant content for delivery to your
Palm OS handheld (the Pocket PC version is due out this fall)
and link to more in-depth resources on the Web for additional
information. Deliver drugs, diseases, test information, guidelines,
local news and events by one platform. In addition, the need to
download entire databases every time there is an update is a thing
of the past. On each HotSync, updated information is automatically
downloaded to your handheld which guarantees you have the latest
information published. For nursing the ability to have resources
and current references delivered to your handheld with links back
to the web is far reaching. Quality care is enhanced through the
functionality to not only learn more about each illness through
profiles, but to have at hand a quick search of the literature
and web sources.
My recent foray into this unique Mobile Knowledge Management
solution utilized of the following modules:
( Drug Interaction Facts is also available was
but not tested as part of this review.)
Each of these sections has the capability of updates at each
HotSync. From my understanding, in an enterprise, each user has
their own sign-on moniker and password along with channel access
as provided by the administrator.
A-Z Drug Facts acts like many of the handheld applications
already on the market with the ability to search via an alphabetical
listing, jump to a specific pharmacological name plus having the
usual information in a drop down list to explore like dosing,
actions, adverse reactions, interactions, contraindications, lab
test interference, admin and storage, assessment and interventions
plus family and patient education sections. At any point you can
perform a search through Medline for additional information through
the use of keywords. An added attraction for this screen is a
little keyboard in the lower R corner that pops up a keyboard
to enter the information quickly should you not be enamored with
graffiti or have your own portable key board attached.
Clinical Evidence is the online BMJ version transferred
to your handheld complete with reference sources for additional
study. This certainly beats running to the library, central station
or carrying their paper backed version in your backpack. Just
enter the body system you want to monitor for this category on
your PC and when you synch the information is retrieved and sent
to your handheld. I have shared this information with the technology
savvy consumers who are asking for additional references and sources
for their disease entity.
The capability exists to save the information to the web which
enables you to save the disease profile to your CogniQ library
and link to more in-depth studies.
MedWeaver Diseases provides an alphabetical search mode
with updates entered whenever a hot synch occurs or you review
your subscriptions and check the box indicating update at the
next HotSync. Each disease contains a drop down list for etiology,
associated terms and conditions, symptoms, physical findings,
laboratory findings and diagnostically helpful information.
MEDLINE searches have been a staple of research
for some time. Now you can accomplish this task on the go. A full
complement of professional journals from A to Z is available.
Changes can be accomplished anytime you choose simply by accessing
your subscription account online and checking and unchecking boxes
to search the appropriate resource. And yes, there is a wealth
of all the referred nursing journals.
Select the journal of your choice and up pops the current articles
retrieved from your last hotsynch. There will be an indication
of whether an abstracted or full text version is available. This
again is savable to your private CogniQ library. The Q->A at
the top is the place to perform your search thus answering the
initial question posed on how you can have current and relevant
content in the palm of your hand. Ah, but you can also organize
and share this information in your personal library with others.
Minimum System Requirements
-
Palm OS Version 3.x
-
Palm Hotsynch manager 3.0
-
Microsoft Windows 95, 98, 2000, ME, XP or NT
4.0
-
Browser support for Netscape Navigator 4.0 and
Microsoft Explorer 4.6.
Currently there is no memory card functionality or MacOS support.
Memory use is approximately 1.7MB for A-Z Drugs, 1.8MB for Drug
Interaction Facts, and MedWeaver Disease Profiles is approximately
650k. With all I have downloaded for the four categories reviewed
it uses about 4154k of memory.
With CogniQ, each user automatically receives updates
for a full year, and has full access to the Web Library feature
& Unbound MEDLINE on the Web.
Other Solutions powered by Unbound
Medicine's CogniQ are: Ovid Technologies
Ovid@Hand, and McGraw-Hill's Harrison's
On Hand.
Conclusions
In just a few short years mobile solutions have migrated from being
the cool technology for the early adopters to a center
stage point-of-care solution that can address both clinical and
administrative productivity for healthcare professionals. The corridor
cruisers of today as well as tomorrow will greatly benefit by this
single interface for diverse content delivery. It is no longer appropriate
to think that healthcare professionals only need a PC for information
access while delivering care that involves being away from the main
work station or office. We as end users must have the content at
the direct point-of care.
Sylvia Suszka Hildebrandt,
RN, BS, MN, ARNP, CCNI
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