Sony Vaio P

I've always been a Sony fan. I know that they tend to be a bit more expensive (like a Mac), but the build quality tends to be quite superb. I have an older Sony Vaio VGN-T250 that I still use for light computing.

Well, the Vaio P is the latest addition and it is being touted as the smallest 8" netbook. It has an extra-wide display (only Sony can get away with things like that) and a built-in GPS. I'm still surprised that Sony hasn't jumped on the Tablet PC market. If they took the TT series and made that into a convertible tablet, I think that would be a hot seller, especially for healthcare professionals who want something that is light and functional.

Sony always has a unique way of entering the market with innovative products. Instead of delivering a conventional netbook, the Vaio P is unique and very expensive (starts at $899).

CES 2009

I really envy those who are able to attend CES 2009. I have too many work-related travel engagements this month. However, maybe I'll get to attend CES 2010 as a healthcare professional blogger. I'm not particularly crazy about Las Vegas, but it would be great to attend someday.

Are the Days of Coumadin Over?

I know someone on a personal basis (not a patient) who used to take Coumadin for recurrent DVTs. His INR used to go all over the place because he would alter his diet and start new medications that often interacted with Vitamin K. Back in those days, physicians used to dream about a magic pill that didn't require any INR monitoring and that would provide optimal anticoagulation to prevent DVTs. Many people are now wondering, "Is rivaroxaban/BAY 59-7939/Xarelto the first pill that will replace Coumadin and eliminate routine INR monitoring?" I'm very eager to see how other oral factor Xa inhibitors will compare. Is factor Xa inhibition the ideal mechanism? What about factor IIa? Direct thrombin inhibitor? The world of pharmacology is changing so rapidly that it's impossible to keep up with all these changes.

BlackBerry

The BlackBerry has evolved tremendously, hasn't it? I'm very eager to see what will appear at CES 2009. My prediction is that most future BlackBerry models will have a touch screen plus a hardware keyboard. They will look similar to a Treo, but will be wider and thinner (bigger keys compared to the Treo).

The big question in my mind is: will the BlackBerry become a dominant player among healthcare professionals? We all know how about its popularity among corporate users. Doctors, pharmacists, and nurses have traditionally relied on Palm and Windows Mobile. Now you have the iPhone gaining substantial momentum, especially with the availability of Epocrates on the iPhone. What about BlackBerry?

Best Free EMR?

I've been asked about the "best free EMR" solution (or EHR if you prefer) that's currently available. I think the more important question is: what free EMR/EHR provider will survive in the current economy? What type of business model will be succesfull and will lead to reliable customer service for clinicians who depend on an electronic medical record?

Windows 7 Build 7000 on Samsung Q1 Ultra UMPC

I had such high expectations for Windows 7 on my Samsung Q1 Ultra UMPC. I installed the beta version of Windows 7 (build 7000) and although it felt better compared to build 6956, it was still very slow. I just created a new partition in my Vista drive and installed Windows 7. At that point, it was a triple boot device. Now, I'm back to a dual boot system running XP and Vista.

Will Windows 7 live up to all the hype? Perhaps it will for faster systems. My Q1 Ultra is just too slow. Let's see what types of new gadgets appear at CES 2009!

Google Webmaster Tools Data

Thanks to Google, I have access to some interesting data regarding search statistics on Google. Traffic to my blog may be tiny compared to others, but I find it interesting that certain unanticipated words lead to my blog. Do you use Google to search the internet? Maybe you use Yahoo?

It makes sense that both Epocrates and BlackBerry come up so high, since my blog covers much about technology, gadgets, and handheld devices. The BlackBerry Storm has been a popular device recently, so many people have been writing about that. How are clinicians liking the Storm?

Here's some search data from Google. I will only list the top 10 as of January 1, 2009

Impressions The top 20 queries in which your site appeared, and the percentage of the top 20 queries represented by each search.

# % Query Position 1 34% epocrates blackberry 8 2 9% free emr 7 3 8% epocrates for blackberry 8 4 6% epocrates blackberry storm 4 5 4% blackberry storm epocrates 6 6 3% epocrates for blackberry storm 3 7 3% opera mini vs opera mobile 8 8 3% swallow syncope 9 9 3% joseph kim 1 10 3% blackberry epocrates 8

Traffic

The top 20 queries from which users reached your site, and the percentage of the top 20 queries represented by each click.

#	%	Query	Position
1	14%	free emr	7
2	9%	opera mobile vs opera mini	7
3	6%		2
4	6%	epocrates for blackberry storm	3
5	6%	opera mini vs opera mobile	8
6	6%	non clinical careers for physicians	10
7	4%	epocrates blackberry storm	4
8	4%	"non clinical" careers for physicians	6
9	4%	blackberry storm medical applications	6
10	4%	swallow syncope	9

Networking in 2009

Do you plan to expand your social network this year? If you do, here are some practical tips that may help, from Andrea Santiago at About.com

http://healthcareers.about.com/od/gettingthejob/a/Networking.htm

Start a blog. Join LinkedIn. Participate in a forum.

Participating in Forums

Do you participate in any online forums? This is a great way to network, but you should be cautious and only sign up for forums that are truly legitimate. Sermo is a great forum for physicians. There are other forums out there, like Student Doctor Network. Online forums and blogs are some of the core elements that compose Web 2.0

As the internet becomes more interactive, join social networking sites and participate in forums. You may find some valuable information and also meet some interesting people.

If you're a physician, why don't you join Sermo?

Happy New Year! Welcome 2009

As we start 2009, I'd like to wish all our readers a Happy New Year! I personally think 2009 will bring some significant advances in healthcare technology. This will be seen in hardware - ranging from personal computers, handheld devices/PDA/smart phones, medical instruments and devices, and many others. We will also see a stronger shift into healthcare/public health IT as more hospitals and physicians embrace EHR/EMR systems and rely more on computers to improve patient health.