August 30, 2012

Coagulation App from CDC

BY Dr. Keith J. Kaplan


PttappscreenThere has to be an app for that!  

 Actually there is one now from informatics folks at the Centers for Diease Control (CDC).

Downloaded this yesterday and everything a (medical) app should be — Low cost (free), intuitive, easy to use, practical, educational and informative. Not hard to use, navigate or get infrormation from.

iTunes preview

CDC's PTT Advisor offers clinicians a tool to quickly select the appropriate follow-up tests to evaluate patients with a prolonged partial thromboplastin time (PTT) laboratory result and a normal prothrombin time (PT) laboratory result. PTT Advisor will run on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. PTT Advisor has been created by CDC in collaboration with experts in diagnostic coagulation with a collective experience of more than 50 years in the field. 

CDC works 24/7 keeping America safe from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and domestic. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are chronic or acute, curable or preventable, human error or deliberate attack, CDC fights it and supports communities and citizens to prevent it. CDC is the nation's health protection agency — saving lives, protecting people from health threats, and saving money through prevention. 

iTunes preview

FEATURES:

  • Simple and easy-to-use interface
    Pttapp2
  • Quickly navigate through the decision tree
  • Additional information/footnotes provided at key decision points
  • Quickly modify your answers and review all your selections at any point
  • Can be used for both pediatric and adult populations
  • No registration or login required
  • No data is collected or stored

Contact e-mail:  InformaticsLab@cdc.gov

Q: How do I get PTT Advisor? 
A: You can download PTT Advisor for your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad from Apple's App Store — free of charge. 

FAQs:

Q: How do I navigate through the application?
A: The toolbar at the bottom of the screen has three navigation buttons: 
Navigation buttons 
(1) Back: Go back one step. 
(2) Next: Go forward one step. 
(3) Go to Last: Go to the last step you were presented, but haven't yet responded to. 

Q: Each screen is labeled at the bottom with Step #. How many total steps are in an evaluation?
A: The number of steps per evaluation is determined by your responses. Certain responses will lead to additional steps, so there is no fixed total number of steps. 

Q: How do I change my response to a question?
A: You can either: 

(1) tap the Back button Back button to navigate to the desired question, then change your response -OR- 

(2) tap the Evaluation Review button Evaluation Review button, then tap the desired question listed under Completed Steps.
You will be returned to the selected question, where you can change your response. 

Q: When I navigate back to previous steps, why are some buttons green with a checkmark?
A: The button that you tapped as your response will be green with a white checkmark. 

Q: I changed a response, and a Change Decision Warning alert appears. What does this mean?
A: If you change your response to a previously answered question, all the responses you gave at steps beyond the question will be discarded. You will receive new questions and information from that point forward. For example, if you are at Step 5, but change the response for Step 2, your responses for Steps 3 through 5 will be discarded. You will get new questions/information at Step 3 and onward. 

Q: What does the Footnotes button Footnotes button do?
A: The Footnotes button will be enabled on a step if footnotes are associated with the information presented. This will be indicated by a note at the end of the question/information that reads: [see footnotes]. Touching the Footnotes button launches the Footnotes screen, where any associated footnotes will be listed. 

Q: What is the Evaluation Review screen?
A: The Evaluation Review screen is launched by touching the Evaluation Review button Evaluation Review button on the toolbar. This screen lists the steps you have completed thus far, as well as the current step (or recommendation, if you've reached the Recommendation step). From here, you can tap any step and return to it (to change your answer, for example), or just review the steps and responses thus far in the evaluation. 

Q: If I restart the patient evaluation with the Restart button Restart button, will my previous responses be lost?
A: Yes, when you restart the patient evaluation, any previously entered responses will be discarded. 

Q: I've made it to the Recommendation screen. What do I do now? 
A: Once you have reached the Recommendation screen and read the recommendation, you can: 
(1) start a new patient evaluation by tapping the Done button Done button or the Restart button Restart button
(2) review the evaluation and your responses by navigating backward with the Back button Back button, or launching the 
Evaluation Review screen with the Evaluation Review button Evaluation Review button
(3) suspend or close PTT Advisor. 

Q: Is the response data collected or stored?
A: No, your responses are discarded once you either (1) close the application, or (2) start a new patient evaluation. 

CDC convened seven Institutes from 1984 to 2007 on critical issues in clinical laboratory practice (http://www.cdc.gov/dls/institutes/). National and international experts focused on the role of the clinical laboratory in providing quality testing to improve patient outcomes. The Clinical Laboratory Integration into Healthcare Collaborative (CLIHC)™,  CDC’s Division of Laboratory Science and Standards (DLSS), is addressing some of the recommendations from these institutes by focusing on important “gaps” that must be filled to optimize the ability of practicing clinicians to effectively utilize laboratory services for better patient care. 
The PPT Advisor was developed through CDC’s Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services by the DLSS’s CLIHC™, in partnership with the OSELS Informatics R&D Activity.

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