I'm off to San Francisco to attend the Alliance for CME annual conference #ACME2010

I'm flying out to San Francisco to attend the 36th Alliance for CME annual conference. This year, I'm looking forward to participating in a new committee called the Emerging Technologies Committee.

This year, I'll be blogging on my Apple iPad and tweeting with my Motorola Droid X (Android smartphone). I'll probably also send some tweet using my iPad.  Make sure to follow me @DrJosephKim and the #ACME2010 Twitter hashtag.

Speaking of the Alliance for CME, did you know this?

The Alliance for CME is pleased to offer the Competency Assessment & Lifelong Learning Series (CALLS), a set of online learning tracks that support unique professional development opportunities.

Proficiency in Continuing Medical Education

CCMEP™ Exam Prep
Competency-Based Certificates, including:

• Best Practices in Assessment and Evaluation (Alliance Competency 3.2)
• Directing Physician Self-assessment for Learning and Change (Alliance Competency 3.6)
• Facilitating Improvements in Healthcare by Addressing Barriers (Alliance Competency 4.6)

See you in San Francisco! 

Testing Epocrates on the Droid

This is being republished from MedicalSmartphones.com

I've been testing Epocrates Rx (beta) on the Motorola Droid (running the Google Android OS) and my initial impressions are very positive. The Droid is a powerful smartphone running a super-fast 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, so the device is much faster than most smartphones, including the HTC Touch Pro2 or the iPhone 3GS. When you're browsing the web, content-heavy pages load very quickly. Google Maps with the spoken "turn-by-turn" navigation is also a great feature found on the Motorola Droid.

You can expect to see several future blog posts here on MedicalSmartphones.com as I test Epocrates on the Droid. As I test the software on Android, I'll blog about what I discover.

Today, I noticed that when I tap certain buttons, I'm not always getting the visual feedback that tells me that I touched an on-screen button. Normally, you'd see buttons change colors or change appearances when you touch it. This is a minor bug. Given that the software is still beta, this is not a big deal and I'm sure they'll fix those minor bugs when they release the final version.

Epocrates Rx for Android and webOS

This is being republished from: http://www.medicalsmartphones.com/

Have you tried Epocrates Rx on your Google Android or Palm webOS smartphone?  The software is currently beta and you won't get any updates, but it's stable and it runs well. You can view photos of pills, check for drug-drug interactions, and use important tables and calculators. 

I know that many physicians rely on Epocrates on a daily basis. Are you one of those users? I still remember when Epocrates launched its company in 1998 and when PDAs were starting to enter the medical industry. Those were simple days of grayscale Palm Pilots and AAA batteries. Now, we have a wide selection of powerful devices like the Motorola Droid and the Palm Pre.

My top 5 Android medical apps

If you're thinking switching to an Android smartphone, do you know which medical apps are currently available for Android? Make sure to read this:

Top 5 Android Medical Apps

Don't forget to follow my other popular site: http://www.MedicalSmartphones.com/ If you're using an Android smartphone, then you've probably discovered that the list of professional medical apps is relatively short compared to the iPhone, Windows Mobile, and even BlackBerry. This trend will change dramatically this year as more medical app developers and publishers release medical apps for Android. Here's my current list of "top 5Android medical apps" (this list will probably change in a few months):

1. Epocrates (currently in public beta, but soon to be released)
2. Skyscape Android Reader (plus, the entire list of books and references)
3. Unbound Medicine (plus, the entire list of books and references)
4. UpToDate (via mobile web browser)
5. QxMD (calculators and pregnancy wheel)

When it comes to specific books and references, I would suggest the following:

• 5-Minute Clinical Consult
• Davis's Drug Guide 
• Taber's Medical Dictionary
• Pocket Guide to Diagnostic Tests 

I realize that we're going to see many new medical apps arriving in the next few months, so stay tuned and make sure to follow this blog for the latest updates.

Epocrates for Android and webOS

Make sure to ready my posts on MedicalSmartphones.com about recent updates with Epocrates. They have released beta versions of software for Google Android and Palm webOS. Visit: MedicalSmartphones.com and click here to read my posts about Epocrates.

Google Android 1.5

Google has an operating system for smartphones called Android. The latest announcement on their developer site includes information about Android 1.5. Some of the most exciting features include:

• On-screen keyboards
• More widgets
  
• Video recording
• Stereo Bluetooth (so you can practice your cardiac auscultation skills with both ears)
  

The most popular smartphone that runs Android is the T-Mobile G1. Will Google Android offer features that are unique enough to set it apart from the iPhone?

Predictions about Google Android

There has been so much speculation about Google Android. Will this be the next major smartphone operating system that beats out Windows Mobile (probably), webOS (yes), BlackBerry (yes) and iPhone (maybe)?

I hope Epocrates has a working version for Android in development. It took them quite a while before they had anything robust for BlackBerry. Since these smartphones are evolving so rapidly, it's vital to keep up with them if you want to stay in the race.