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Medical errors also happens to be one of the US's biggest causes of preventable death. As per the 'British Medical Journal' editorial (March, 2001) Preventable healthcare errors cost the economy an astonishing $17-$29 billion p. a and medical errors lead to 3 million extra bed days per year in England and Wales, costing £1bn.
The few area that are most prone to errors include drug prescribing, their dosage and treatment administration especially for an uncommon conditions. A computer with its vast memory capability in the form of a PDA that can easily store and give information at a click of button. This process is hence more appealing to a trainee, a nurse or a clinician. This is one reason for their popularity in this field that is so information intensive and complex. The PDA has now found a place in the pocket of the white-coat, the appeal is even more since it is lightweight, small, easy to carry around, it does not interfere with the various medical equipments functioning and it can talk to the desktop computer with ease. It seems like the most wonderful device to have as it fits all the requirements. No wonder that the usage of PDA doubled in 1999-01 and a survey done by ACP American Society of Internal Medicine in 2001 showed that 47% of their members were using PDAs and this was expected to be 67% by the end of 2002. The most popular software's were the drug reference software, medical calculators and messaging service to Pharmacy to order prescriptions.
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