Handheld Reference Guide May Prevent Drug Errors

Point-of-care software that offers information on more than 2,800 prescription drugs can now be accessed by using personal digital assistant (PDA) devices from a variety of manufacturers, enlarging use of the system and helping to avert medication errors.

The software, called ePocrates Rx Pro, also includes information on 400 alternative medications, clinical guidelines, formulary hosting, and an infectious disease application, all of which are updated weekly. The program, which runs on Pocket PC devices, enables doctors wherever they are to quickly and easily access critical clinical information and to connect with other healthcare professionals as needed. Doctors using the reference guide were able to prevent one to two medication errors per week, according to a study cited by ePocrates, Inc. (San Mateo, CA, USA), which developed the software.

Previously, ePocrates software ran only on handheld devices using the Palm Operating System (Palm OS). A new online version of the Rx Pro software is being developed that will enable doctors to access the same information but with the ability to print out dosing, drug interaction information, and patient education materials.

"Accelerating the adoption of new technology is a challenge in any industry, and healthcare has been no exception,” said Robert Quinn, chief technology officer of ePocrates. "ePocrates' success stems from the fact that we built a highly intuitive point-of-care PDA drug reference.”




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