Assessing the impact on patient-physician interaction when physicians use personal digital assistants: a Northeastern Ohio Network (NEON) study.

Background: The effects of the use of technological devices on dimensions that affect the physician-patient relationship need to be well understood.

Objectives: Determine patients' perceptions of physicians' personal digital assistant (PDA) use, comparing the results across 8 physician-patient dimensions important to clinical interactions.

Results: Patients completed anonymous surveys about their perceptions of physician PDA use.

A sexual history-taking curriculum for second year medical students.

The purpose of this study is to describe the evaluation of a sexual history-taking curriculum and correlates of student performance during a Clinical Skills Assessment. Reading assignments, small group discussions, a Saturday Sex workshop and performance on a Clinical Skills Assessment were evaluated. Students most favorably rated the workshop and least favorably rated the reading assignments.

The medically underserved: who is likely to exercise and why?

Adults who exercise regularly have better health, but only 15% of U.S. adults engage in regular exercise, with some social groups, such as people with lower incomes and women, having even lower rates.

Handheld computer use in a family medicine clerkship.

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to track students' use of medical and nonmedical personal digital assistant (PDA) software and to obtain students' ratings of the usefulness of PDAs in a family medicine clerkship.

Method: During the academic year 2001-02, third-year clerkship students at the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine were loaned PDAs equipped with company-installed software, such as a date book and address book. Additional software was installed (Griffith's 5 Minute Clinical Consult, ePocrates qRx, ePocrates qID, iSilo, HanDBase, MedCalc, and Application Usage).