quarterly career check-up//October, 2008

Technology Tips for Physicians

The medical field is quickly becoming increasingly dependent on technology to assist in records management, business, finance, and other day-to-day operations. With over 30 years in the recruitment industry, Kendall & Davis and Linde Healthcare have strived to keep ahead of the technological growth within the industry. We have compiled a list of tips, tricks, and handy gadgets to help you throughout your medical career.

• Electronic Medical Records

  Advanced electronic medical records (EMR) systems are being widely adopted in medical facilities throughout the country in order to improve the patient experience and facilitate the physician’s needs. For more information about this exciting new technology, read our Emerging Technology review.

• Voice-Recognition Software

  Voice-recognition technology, such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking, is being adopted in many medical facilities to allow physicians to dictate chart notes, letters, and other necessary documents in their office easily and effectively without the need for transcriptions.

• Spellex

  Many medicine-related software programs are available for your desktop, including Spellex, a comprehensive medical spell-check library that can integrate in to most word processing applications.

• Personal Digital Assistants

  For physicians who are constantly on the run, in and out of clinics, barely able to spend a few minutes a day in your office, a personal digital assistant (PDA) can offer you the resources and convenience you need to keep yourself organized. A small cell-phone-integrated PDA, like a BlackBerry or iPhone, gives you the ability to check e-mail, send messages, and access the internet easily from your phone. More advanced models, like a Palm handheld or an iPaq pocket PC by Hewlett-Packard, offer a fully-functioning operating system with much of the same software you would find on your desktop PC. Many software applications are available for PDAs to help physicians in their day-to-day activities – companies like Unbound Medicine and Merck Medicus develop resources to aid physicians in every aspect of their medical practice.

• Wireless Reading Devices

  Reading devices such as Amazon’s new Kindle allow you to download almost any book electronically to a small pocket-sized device. These devices do not require a computer or cables, books can be auto-delivered wirelessly. Amazon’s Kindle offers more than 170,000 book titles, many top U.S. and international newspapers, and popular internet blogs. The device can hold over 200 titles at a time. You can also transfer documents and images from your desktop for easy on-the-go access.

Online Resources

• NALTO.org

  The National Association of Locum Tenens Organization’s recently redesigned website offers resources for practicing physicians, as well as locum tenens information and education.

• PDR.net

  PDR.net is a free resource to practicing physicians which includes PDR’s concise drug information, specialty-focused resource centers, drug alerts, medical dictionaries, patient education information, full FDA-approved product labeling, multi-drug interaction checker, and more. PDR.net also offers the Clinical Xpert, software for your PDA containing all the resources available on the site accessible to your wherever you go.

• Relocation Resources

  Linde Healthcare and Kendall & Davis provide extensive resources for relocation assistance and information in Physicians and the Housing Market from our May 2008 newsletter.

• Licensure Assistance

  For contact information and online resources for licensing and credentialing institutions in all 50 states, visit our Licensure information page.

Sign-up today or call us at 1-866-480-3874 to begin working with one of our dedicated physician recruitment specialists.

*** This article does not constitute official financial or legal advice on the part of Linde Healthcare/Kendall & Davis. Linde Healthcare/Kendall & Davis is not directly affiliated with any of the websites discussed in this article and can not be held liable for any information received from these third-party sources.