I don’t endorse many products, but this one I’m glad to tell you about.
PEPID is software that is meant for a range of PDA’s, be they my Palm (Treo 700p), Windows, Blackberry, etc. I use the PEPID ED Suite at work, which is described on their site as:
PEPID ED is the first choice of emergency physicians for point-of-care reference. 40 board-certified emergency physicians originally created PEPID ED and now the number of contributors is in the hundreds! Written in a concise and quickly assimilated format, it allows instant access to critical medical and pharmacological information. With PEPID ED you can find the answers you need in seconds. Favorably reviewed in JAMA, PEPID ED helps you to work more efficiently and reduce the risk of error in busy emergency departments.
Yeah, that sounds very generic, so let me tell you about when I decided to convert from the free (14 day) trial and spend the bucks. A patient presents feeling frankly terrible and with a diffuse vasculitic rash. Very early in the history it’s determined the patient has been taking quite a lot more methotrexate than intended (mixup, not sure why) so I tried out my new Pepid: ‘methotrexate’ brings up not just the drug, but throws me a lifeline: ‘overdose’ is on the front-page drop down menu. I clicked on that, and it took me to the antidote (Leucovorin AD, liquid folate, which I didn’t remember), and then, tells me it’s dosed based on body surface area, then offers a calculator, all in serial – sequential clicks. Amazing, and terrific.
If you’re an EM resident you need this, as it’ll let you lose 3 or 4 pocket stuffers; if you’re an attending it’ll save you from the ‘I used to remember that’ disease, which is truly worthwhile. I also have epocrates, but it’s now relegated to serious backup status only; now what I used it for is more than covered by PEPID.
Sounds great, but please will someone tell me. How can I link my 700w to one of my many Mac’s?
Easy: sell a mac to a college student, and pick up a cheap win-box. Presto!
Any other PDA based referenced sources youve tried/recommend? I used to swipe access to Up to Date when i was on AD from our Bn Surgeons who had access through the Navy, but Im looking for any references sources now. Thanks GD
I like Epocrates (the free version is here), but it’s nothing like PEPID, especially in the ED environment.
yeah, that’s what I thought.
I really liked the RN version of PEPID! I used it when in nursing school. I don’t really use a PDA now just because mine was an older version and used to erase everything I put on it (programs and all) if I accidentally let the battery die without sync-ing it, and it was a real pain. (I had a Palm m505) But anyhow – the PEPID program was really great! I even recommended it to some of the profs at the university. I’d like to see it become available to university students/employees/faculty.
As far as the methotrexate…was the patient injecting it? And if so, were they given TD syringes or insulin syringes? This is something that has concerned me lately. I know the insulin syringe is 1cc and that 60 units equals 0.6ml (my dose of methotrexate – well it’s really 15mg), but I would rather be doing this with a 1cc syringe. What if somebody messes this up? Plus the vials are a not just 1cc doses – I think mine hold 50cc/2ml or something like that? I don’t have them in front of me – would have to pull them out, but I think it’s something like that. Sometimes I worry not so much about my own use of it, but about what other people do with it. I obviously don’t have a problem doing med calcs (at least I’d sure hope not!), but I would imagine that some people might just find it a little confusing… Wicked powerful drug – and I’m glad you had that info in front of you!
Take care,
Carrie :)