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In addition to the usual PDA functions—contacts, calendar, task list etc—the Palm can be a versatile medical tool. Here is a brief round-up of a few apps and solutions I find have a place in general practice...

Here's what I use on a Palm T3 in a general practice (family medicine) context.

Prescribing reference: BNF

For more information, click here.

Alternative prescribing reference: ePocrates Rx

ePocrates Rx might serve if you don't want to go to the trouble of converting the BNF for use on your Palm. Some of the drugs are unfamiliar (and that's not just the brand names) and in addition to the usual prescribing information there are several really useful features e.g. the option to add your own notes and an interaction checker:

Although you need a PC for the installation, once installed on your Palm you can keep the content up-to-date using the supplied AuotUpdate app (use your mobile or share your Internet connection to the Palm):

Portable practice intranet: Web Pro

Web Pro, one of the built-in apps, allows me to carry around clinical guidelines from our intranet on an SD Card. These comprise image-mapped flowcharts with working hyperlinks:

Learning log and notes: Documents To Go

Can't remember everything? Whether it's prescribing guidance, information about local services, or your own "learning log" as a record of your continuing professional development, carrying Word files around with you has it's merits. Documents To Go also came with the T3:

A conduit ensures that any changes made on your desktop or Palm are synchronized:

Medical eponyms: Eponyms

Know your Bouchard's from your Herberden's nodes? Eponyms is a free dictionary of medical eponyms (things named after people to you and me!):

Medical calculator: MedCalc

MedCalc is a free medical calculator that includes many equations: some complex and mystical, and some I use often (BMI, peak flow, gestation, units conversion):

Key references: EndNote

EndNote, a reference manager, is a great desktop tool for searching MEDLINE and organizing your reference libraries if you dabble in academia. It now includes a Palm viewer:

A conduit allows any alternations on either your Palm or desktop to be synchronized:

The BMJ this week: HighWire Viewer

The BMJ table of contents is (usually) worth a browse. Now, in a quiet moment wherever you are, you can preview whether it's worth going online/ opening the paper edition. You'll need to setup a HighWire account which is fairly straight-forward and upload the HighWire Viewer to your Palm:

A conduit (Mac and PC) is used to update info on the Palm as new editions are published:

Health headlines: Hand/RSS

Hand/RSS is a Palm app RSS feed reader. Use it to subscribe, for example, to the BBC Health newsfeed or the NeLH "Hitting the headlines" newsfeed to maintain awareness of topical health stories over lunch:

A Mac/ PC HotSync conduit is included, or you can use your phone to gather new headlines wirelessly:

Differential diagnosis: DxSaurus

No, it's not a children's game, but a free aid to differential diagnosis from Unbound Medicine/ McGraw-Hill. Diagnosaurus uses the CogniQ viewer which (again!) requires a PC for installation (and has only low-res support). That said, it does provide a quick way to answer one of clinical practice's most ubiquitous questions—"What else could be cause x?":

Medical references: Mobipocket

An alternative title here might be "What would I like on my Palm that isn't?" British references are more relevant than American ones, and the deservedly famous Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine (OHCM) and Oxford Handbook of Clinical Specialties (OHCS) have been produced in Mobipocket format by Franklin. However, IMHO $US60 is too expensive for previous editions when the updated paper editions are compact and cost significantly less. Still, Mobipocket does provide me with the Electronic Pocket Oxford English Dictionary (OED). As I type my own referral letters it saves some embarrassing missmellings: