Table 5
Potential Benefits of Enhanced Handheld Computer Technology: The Clinicians’ Wishlist for Future Improvements
| Category | Examples of responses |
| Increased point-of-care availability of clinical data | A simple electronic medical records program that would be accessible from several locations (office, nursing home, hospital). |
| Patient charts that can be accessed by all providers taking care of a particular patient to help decrease duplication of tests and to increase knowledge of all current medical problems and medications. | |
| Enhanced wireless connectivity | Ability to communicate directly to HCs used by the majority of specialists with whom I routinely consult. |
| Continuous link to online health information such as “Up To Date”. | |
| Electronic prescribing and wireless computerized order entry |
|
| Voice and handwriting recognition |
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| More intelligent prescribing | Software that would let you enter diagnoses and help select medications for patients with multiple medical problems. |
| A diagnostic program that would link a possible adverse drug event and the drug interaction program. | |
| Improved hardware | Larger screen, longer battery life, faster, lighter, better graphics and hack proof. |
| Wearable computer: size of the HC; power of the tablet PC; wireless; with virtual display; voice recognition; natural language processing; integrated medical/health record; clinical reference guides, Medline search and artificial intelligence capabilities. |
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Abbreviations: HC=handheld computer; EMR=electronic medical record.
