Thank you for downloading MedLabRef for PalmPilot, a fully editable and customizable guide to Medical Laboratory Reference values. Included are common "normal values" for most major laboratory blood and urine tests ordered in clinical medicine. I think you will find this reference a helpful aid if you are involved in clinical medicine in any way, regardless of your degree of training. Understanding that each laboratory may determine its own reference range for any or all tests it performs, the included reference ranges provide only a general guide. With the ability to edit the contents of any laboratory test item included with MedLabRef, you may change the reference ranges to suit those employed by the laboratory(ies) with which you deal most frequently.
DISCLAIMER: The contents of the included PalmOS archive file(s) have been gathered from sources generally regarded to be accurate and reliable. However, the contents cannot in any way be guaranteed and should never be used as a substitute for sound clinical knowledge, thought, or judgment. The contents are intended only as a quick and convenient palmtop/desktop reference. Additionally, since the contents are entirely editable by any user, the author cannot accept any responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies, whether typographical or otherwise. MedLabRef includes absolutely no guarantees or warrantees, express or implied; the author and distributor(s) disclaim any liability, loss, or damage related in any way to the contents. With that in mind, every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of all information included in the downloadable version of MedLabRef. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE BOUND BY THE AFORMENTIONED ADVISORIES AND CONDITIONS, REMOVE MEDLABREF FROM ANY AND ALL MEDIA TO WHICH YOU MAY HAVE DOWNLOADED IT. Otherwise, please enjoy and make judicious use of MedLabRef, making any changes necessary for it to be maximally useful to you.
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
I suggest printing this document for easy reference so that you can read it as you follow each step in the installation process. Briefly, MedLabRef is a PalmOS MemoPad Archive which you must import into your PalmOS MemoPad using the Palm Desktop. To do this effectively and to avoid incorporating the MedLabRef entries into existing areas of your MemoPad, please follow the instructions carefully.
Installation using PALM DESKTOP for WINDOWS
1. Open the Palm Desktop from the Windows95/98/NT Start menu or by double-clicking the application icon as you normally would.
2. Click the MemoPad icon on the Palm Desktop to enter the MemoPad.
3. Click the arrow at the side of the category towards the top of the window LEFT OF CENTER (NOT the category window on the lower right side of the window); scroll down to "Edit Categories" and click again.
4. Click "New" and type "MedLabRef" (or "Lab values" or "Lab reference" or some such category name that you wish to use for the contents of MedLabRef). [If you already have 15 category names, you will have to eliminate one of them to make room for MedLabRef before this step can be completed successfully.]
5. Click OK to return to the "Edit Categories" dialog box. Click OK again.
6. You should now be in the newly created "MedLabRef" area of your MemoPad (or whatever you named this area in step 4 above).
7. Next click on the File pulldown menu at the top of the window, scroll down and click on "Import".
8. At the bottom of the window that opens is an area called "Files of type". Click on the arrow at the right of this area, and select "Memopad Archive (*.mpa)".
9. Find the location where you downloaded and unzipped MedLabRef and click on the MedLabRef archive file.
10. Once you have highlighted/selected the MedLabRef archive file, click "Open" and your new MedLabRef (or whatever name you chose) MemoPad area will fill with the contents of MedLabRef.
11. The next time you HotSync, MedLabRef will be available on your PalmOS Handheld!
Installation using PALM DESKTOP for MACINTOSH
1. Enter the Palm Desktop on your Macintosh.
2. Click on the File pulldown menu and select "Import".
3. Find the location to which you downloaded and saved the MedLabRef archive file; click on the file and click "Open".
4. A dialog box should open now. Next to the word "Fields", click in the box and select "Notes".
5. Beneath that, next to the word "Delimiters", click in the box and select "Palm Desktop".
6. Click "OK".
7. Your "Notes" area should fill with the contents of MedLabRef.
8. The next time you HotSync, MedLabRef should be available on your Palm OS handheld!
*Optional but recommended (for Macintosh): To sort the records alphabetically (as they are intended to be), select the "View" pulldown menu from your Palm Desktop. Next to primary, select "Category". Next to Secondary, select "Title". If prompted to click OK, do so. The MedLabRef area of your Palm Desktop Notes should now be sorted alphabetically.
Installation using POCKET MIRROR (HotSync conduit to MICROSOFT OUTLOOK)
MedLabRef was designed to be installed using Palm Desktop for Windows. If you do not have Palm Desktop for Windows, you can download it from the following website:
http://www.palm.com/support/downloads/
The following installation instructions are taken from a communication from Palm Support. They have not been tested with MedLabRef and are in no way guaranteed to work.
From: Palm Support
You must configure Windows for seperate user profiles.
1. Uninstall the Microsoft Outlook conduit, PocketMirror.
2. Use the Passwords applet (in the Start/Settings/ControlPanel menus) to configure Windows for separate user profiles.
3. Log in to the "Desktop" user account.
4. Install the Palm Desktop software.
5. Log out and then log in to the "Microsoft Outlook" user account.
6. Install the Palm Desktop software (in the same directory as before; this just updates the registry and does not copy files).
7. Install PocketMirror. Now, when you log in under "Desktop," you synchronize with Palm Desktop. When you log in under "Microsoft Outlook," you synchronize with Microsoft Outlook.
One user, after following the above instructions, had some difficulty
reverting to Outlook after using the Palm Desktop to install MedLabRef, probably because he had an older version of Pocket Mirror, the HotSync conduit to Microsoft Outlook. This link should guide you through the process of getting the latest version of Pocket Mirror:
Any time you wish to look up a lab test name, common abbreviation, reference range, etc., there are multiple ways you can do so, as with any of the entries in your PalmPilot MemoPad.
-You can select MemoPad from the Applications window and go to the MedLabRef category to see an alphabetized list of all tests included with MedLabRef.
-You can also press the MemoPad button to enter the MemoPad; proceeding to press that button again will allow you to scroll through all of your PalmPilot's MemoPad categories until you reach MedLabRef.
-Alternatively, you can select the PalmPilot's "Find" function and type in the name or abbreviation of the test you are looking for in order to gain quicker, easier access to just the right piece of information.
-Finally, the "Find" function may allow you to identify groups of commonly ordered tests (e.g., tapping "find" and entering "cbc" will retrieve wbc, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelets). Currently supported test groups you can search include CBC, Chem7/SMA7, Chem12/SMA12, Chem18/SMA18, Chem20/SMA20, General Biochemical Profile (GBP), Basic Metabolic Profile (BMP), Complete Metabolic Profile (CMP), Liver function panel (LFTs), Thyroid function panel (TFTs), Electrolytes, Lipid profile, and Routine Urinalysis (U/A, R&M).
Because MedLabRef is a group of entries for the PalmPilot MemoPad, the user can delete or change any entry he/she may wish. For example, if your laboratory's reference range for Glucose is different (which I suspect it will be) from MedLabRef's range of 65-126, simply select the Glucose entry and edit the reference range in accordance with your lab's range. If you know you will never use a particular test, you can delete its entry as you would any MemoPad item (simply select the entry you wish to delete, tap the Menu icon, and select Delete Memo from the pull-down menu). Finally, if MedLabRef does not include a test you wish to have available in your version of MedLabRef, you can create a new MemoPad entry by tapping New and following the format of other entries. For example, if you were so inclined, you could tap New and enter the following:
Touchdown: 6 points
(Touch-down, TD)
You get the idea. If you do add others, please email them to me (address below) so that they may be included, if appropriate, in future releases/updates of MedLabRef.
Please enjoy! And please let me know what you think!
I hope you find that MedLabRef helps you as it has me. Please let me know of any comments/thoughts you may have about MedLabRef. If there is a particular test you feel would be especially useful or a reference range you find to be incredibly off-base, please send an email to:
tamsean@excite.com
Thank you and enjoy.
Keep your eyes open at PalmGear H.Q. (www.palmgear.com on the web, 817.640.6558 for phone orders, or 817.640.6614 for fax orders ) and MedLabRef on the web (www.newsflow.com/medlabref) for planned expansion modules (cerebrospinal fluid and other body fluid tests). And look out for PedLabRef, the Pediatric counterpart to MedLabRef, available in early 2000.
