case study 2

Name: Willy T. Pedroso
Section: BSIT-3
Case Study #: 2

Put forward a theory about how that person might use a hand held computer in their work
• A delivery person for a courier service
Service technicians can quickly record items repaired, products sold, payments collected, and customer signatures on their handheld unit. This not only eliminates the need to manually enter route tickets on the desktop but also dramatically reduces check-in time at the end of the day.
With handheld computers, all the mathematical and sales tax calculations are done automatically, so these types of errors are virtually eliminated.
Because information is updated on the handheld daily, the unit can function as a valuable reference tool while servicing your customers. Messages can be created by the office and downloaded to the handheld for each service technician. These special instructions are available at the touch of a button, thus eliminating printing messages and excess phone calls. Likewise, most handheld computers have the ability to store handwritten notes, so the technician can write a note for the office. Additionally, the driver will have access to customer delivery and payment history.
A typical day in the life of a service person is to start by downloading data from the host (desktop) system to the handheld. This takes about a couple of minutes. Before leaving the yard, inventory is counted, the load verified and then the driver heads out on route.
On route, the first stop is shown on the screen and the field person can determine what’s required. Once the work is done, it’s quickly recorded into the handheld, a signature is captured, and the customer gets a receipt on the spot. If a payment is collected, it’s also entered -- even credit card data.
As stops are completed, the data for each are being safely stored on a data card that can be removed if anything happens. Unplanned customers can be quickly serviced as the system holds as much data as is required. At the end of the day, the route is balanced out and inventory again counted. Data are uploaded and the employee finishes a half-hour earlier than he did without a handheld.

• A doctor (general practitioner)
Physicians are more likely to adopt handheld devices in settings where computer use is more prevalent and that have established IT support. The health care organizations could encourage staff to use handheld devices by providing training as well as on-going user support (such as a help desk). Other
ways suggested to promote use included databases formatted for the screens and interfaces of handheld devices and options to access point-of-care information from a variety of locations.
Doctors seem to expect handheld computers to become increasingly useful, if not ubiquitous. Organisations can help doctors leverage the use of devices in several ways. Firstly, they can develop applications to facilitate the downloading of material otherwise available on paper, such as databases, drug formularies, and schedule information, but organisations must ensure that these resources are accurate or they will be promptly abandoned. Secondly, organisations can provide advice, training, and user support and create opportunities for doctors to learn from each other. Finally, they can develop options for mobile access to essential point of care information that can be used on handheld computers.
The use of handheld computers varies widely in clinical practice. Clinicians use administrative functions for the development and sharing of lists and databases to keep track of drug formularies, call schedules, and contact details. Specific applications allow patients to be tracked and clinical results to be monitored. The use of administrative functions linked to clinical activities is expanding, with applications such as electronic prescribing and coding attracting attention because of their potential to increase doctors' productivity.
Developing strategies to accommodate handheld computers in clinical practice may be advantageous for both institutions and doctors, especially when the devices are used to access clinical information systems, promoting both enhanced safety and improved time efficiency for doctors. When the expected benefits of electronic health records and other electronic applications largely depend on doctors' use of technology, strategies to promote use of such technologies are critical. For many doctors, handheld computers are emerging as a key means to develop familiarity with and to access electronic clinical information. These devices thus may serve as a technology stepping stone for doctors as they face new health initiatives.