Healthcare mobile software news: Sept. 18 - Oct. 13, 2006

MobileVillage, Oct. 13, 2006 -- Following is a roundup of recent mobile healthcare software announcements.

Netsmart Technologies released Avatar Mobile, a software application that enables Netsmart Avatar users such as clinicians and caseworkers to view and update information in the field. Users can enter progress notes and other information into a notebook computer, tablet PC or other device while in the field and disconnected from their network. The data can then be securely synchronized with the electronic medical record data in a base Avatar system back at their agency.

Remote staff can select from a combination of options, including client demographics, service entries and progress notes. Any data made in the field is automatically synchronized with information in an agency's Avatar base system.

For more information, see Netsmart's website at ntst.com.

PatientKeeper announced that a key component of the company's data synchronization technology has been awarded patent number 7,099,896 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent relates generally to synchronizing information on mobile devices with data stored in multiple enterprise data sources.

Tarascon has updated its Pharmacopoeia PDA application with custom-designed user interface and six new calculators. These updates allow users to change the order of drug information to allow for a more customized product. New technical features improve hardware support, and updates to expiration behavior allow for more functionality after the product expires. For more information, see tarascon.com.

Unbound Medicine, in partnership with the BMJ Publishing Group, released an upgraded BMJ Clinical Evidence for mobile devices. The resource makes the full content of the BMJ Clinical Evidence database accessible using a PDA from any location, including the patient's bedside. Monthly updates are delivered to subscribers when they synchronize their devices. BMJ Clinical Evidence summarizes the current state of knowledge about preventing and treating clinical conditions, and the editorial team uses explicit methodology for selecting and summarizing the latest research, according to Unbound.

Unbound also released the Merck Manual for mobile devices in partnership with Merck & Co. The 18th edition was composed by more than 300 experts, and covers areas such as psychiatry, gynecology, pediatrics, alternative medicine, poisoning, and minor trauma, as well as timely topics such as avian flu and biological warfare. The Merck Manual for Mobile Devices will be continuously updated, according to Unbound. For more information, see unboundmedicine.com.

Recent related stories:

Mobile version of Clinical Evidence launched (IDG)

Mental hospital uses RFID tags for staff security (Australian IT)

Enterprise & developer mobile software: Sept. 18 - Oct. 13