At Norfolk Surgical Group, Dr. Steve Wohlgemuth’s typical week is divided in two very different ways. While he is in surgery three days a week, he is in his office all day for the other two, meeting with patients and doing paper work. On the days he spends in the office, he typically sees 45-50 patients in addition to the phone calls he takes on incoming patient inquiries.

Self-described as “gadget-oriented”, Dr. Wohlgemuth had been using his IPAQ to aid his work for the last several years. He found it useful for scheduling dates and entering patient contact information—but he wanted to use his PDA to give him access to the information he needed to give his patients from their visits.

Dr. Wohlgemuth looked for software that would meet his needs and found that Skyscape titles that gave him the clinical information he needed quickly and efficiently. Today, Dr. Wohlgemuth uses the 5-Minute Clinical Consult, A to Z Drug Facts, Washington Manual of Surgery, Washington Manual of Internal Medicine and The Little Blue Book on his PDA to check clinical information and explain drugs to patients. He has even found himself “killing some time” with the Washington Manuals, going over information to better manage surgical diseases.

Dr. Wohlgemuth found that the breadth and depth of Skyscape titles prove their worth . For example, when he was consulting a patient with sickle cell anemia, something he doesn’t treat often, the 5-Minute Clinical Consult offers a sufficient refresher for treating this patient. “Today, patients are taking drugs I have never heard of.” Using Skyscape titles, he can quickly check for drug interactions. Dr. Wohlgemuth states he is better able to make the appropriate recommendations with access to the information in front of him.

His PDA has become his go-to resource for background information, side effects and dosage amounts for unknown medications or to determine why a patient is having particular symptoms. “I can now ask myself easily ‘What the best medication to treat this disease process?’ and quickly answer that with confidence.” He also finds the titles are convenient for prescription re-filling and locating a pharmacy as well as the phone numbers of referring docs.

Dr. Wohlgemuth has started a trend at his practice. He was the first of eight general surgeons to load his PDA with Skyscape titles and now all eight have them. “The technology is incredible. As an intern, I used to carry around all of these books. Now, all the information fits in my coat pocket.”