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Joshua Schwimmer, MD, FACP, FASNTechnology in Medicine
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Case Study of a Physician's Use of the iPhone 3GS (Part 1)

Joshua Schwimmer, MD, FACP, FASN
I recently upgraded my original iPhone, which I purchased two years ago, to the iPhone 3GS. Truthfully, I wasn't expecting much of a change. Sure, I read the marketing hype — faster processor! 3G speed! GPS! voice control! better camera! — but I didn't expect the new model to make much of a difference in my daily clinical practice as a nephrologist.

Boy, was I wrong. I've been using the 3GS so much that by the end of the day, I've not only burned through the iPhone's battery, but I often burn through the external battery in my Mophie Juice Pack Air case as well. (I highly recommend the Mophie, by the way, which removes a subtle disincentive to using the device because you're worried you may run out of battery life.)


The following is a multi-part description of my own use of the iPhone 3GS. In my experience, the best way to learn to use a new gadget is to look over the shoulders of others, watch how they use it, ask lots of questions, and experiment constantly. (Most iPhone owners are familiar with the phenomenon of having someone grab their phone, scroll through the applications they have installed and ask, "What's that one do?")

So if you have an iPhone, and are a health care professional or patient, this will hopefully be helpful. Even if you don't have an iPhone, some of the applications I describe are available for other PDAs — or they soon will be, since the iPhone has significantly raised the bar for what a mobile device can accomplish.

(Original drafts of these posts were written on the iPhone app BlogPress.)

(This post also appears on The Efficient MD.)

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5 Comments:

  • At Mon Jul 20, 02:11:00 PM 2009, Anonymous Anonymous said…

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    Unfortunately these new anti-anxiety and depression medications do not come without side effects and only a small percentage of its users reports that these medications do indeed balance their moods to the point where they can say they truly feel comfortable over longer periods of time.
    One of the most common experienced side-effect of SSRI’s is decreased sexual appetite which in turn is often treated with other commercial medications such as Viagra, Uprima or Cialis. It is also known that people who suffer chronic depression are more sensitive to pain and the other way around people who suffer severe chronic pain are likely to become depressed due to disturbed chemical balances in the brain.

     
  • At Fri Jul 24, 09:12:00 AM 2009, Blogger mary said…

    What about voice recognition apps for people with carpal tunnel syndrome? I write a blog about dealing with carpal tunnel and wrist pain -

    http://carpaltunnelblog.blogspot.com/

    and I was wondering what the iphone folks are doing to deal with this growing problem.

     
  • At Thu Jul 30, 10:41:00 PM 2009, Anonymous Laura said…

    I've resisted getting an iphone for privacy reasons, the the apps are so compelling that I may have to give in.

     
  • At Thu Jul 30, 10:42:00 PM 2009, Anonymous Clara said…

    I'm thinking the iphone has replaced the PDA of a few years ago as the gadget of choice.

     
  • At Mon Sep 21, 12:12:00 PM 2009, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Another great medical application is CORE - Clinical ORthopedic Exam. A list of clinical special test referenced in the literature with links to pubmed and video demo of each test.

    www.clinicallyrelevant.com

    A must have I think.

     

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