Evernote is becoming the filing cabinet of the virtual world.
By Jerry Durham, PT
In a world of increasing information at your fingertips, the problem of how to gather, sort, and store this information is an issue. For instance, let’s say you find yourself online reading an article about business management and you want to save it with other like-minded articles. Or you are on a trip and want to gather together receipts, with notes regarding meal attendance for submitting expenses. Maybe you want to store the notes you took in anatomy class today and organize them based on body parts. Or, lastly, you are headed on a trip and want to keep your flight information, itinerary, and a backup photocopy of your passport all in one place. If after all that you think, “Wait—I want to be able to share this information too.” You are in luck; Evernote does this for you. I look at Evernote as a filing cabinet for my virtual world, or better yet, a filing cabinet with a search function. Evernote can be used across products—phone, computer, and tablet—and can be synced across all your devices.
Range of motion measurement in an easy-to-use application.
By Dan Fleury, PT, DPT
As health care evolves and therapists are challenged to become more efficient, we often turn to technology for help. I have recently learned about GetMyROM application from Interactive Medical Productions. Released in 2011, the GetMyROM application appealed to me because it addressed one of the most time consuming aspects of information gathering during the initial evaluation.
Obtaining accurate baseline and follow up range of motion (ROM) measures can have a variety of implications, but specifically affect two issues that are vital in our business—payment and utilization management. Decisions over payment often hinge on the ability to accurately measure impairments, and this tool provides a quick and easy method for accomplishing that.
GetMyROM is a digital inclinometer that uses the iPhone screen to display the measurements. The app zeroes the starting angle of a measurement, giving you a true angle of measurement from your starting point—a unique feature. For example, if you are checking knee ROM, and the knee resting position is not exactly 0 degrees, the app adjusts by subtracting the starting ROM from the ending ROM and providing the true range.
The app also allows data storage for retrieval, as well as left and right, specific joint, and direction of movement measured. There is a handy clock indicator to assist you in positioning the iPhone while taking measurements.
The cost of the app is $2.99—far less expensive than a traditional inclinometer priced between $50 to $60. The one drawback: You need an iPhone! Overall, the app is self-explanatory but help features and online videos assist those who are not so technically inclined.
Dan Fleury, PT, DPT, is an Impact editorial board member and a partner with Pinnacle Rehabilitation Network in Amesbury, Massachusetts. He can be reached at dan@pinnaclerehab.net.
By Scott Spradling
The best friend a private practice owner can have is information about the health and wellbeing of his or her clinic. Whether you are a one practitioner office that keeps a paper copy of daily statistics, or a large group with multiple offices or regions that has to compile monthly data from multiple reports, the newly redesigned Roambi Analytics 7 is the application for you.
By Jean Darling, PT, LAT
According to InMedica, the telehealth market is predicted to grow by 55% worldwide in 2013.1 This growth rate is based on the number of devices available to individuals and on service revenues. These facts can be difficult to swallow by someone like me, who did not grow up with a computer, did not use one during college, and did not even use one during my first 10 years of practice. With the continual barrage of new applications and technology that are conducive to improving our daily efficiency as physical therapists, I now find that I am unable to ignore these technological developments as they relate to our profession. I am forced to go along for the technological ride or abandon ship!
