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Young doctors have taken to iPhones – could iPad be next?

Apple's new creation, the iPad, may be a novelty to many consumers, but hospitals are already starting to abandon paper-and-pen clipboards for hand-held digital tablets.

In Sacramento, Kaiser Permanente is in the midst of experimenting with one brand of computerized tablets – with the hope of freeing nurses and doctors from old-school tools and allowing them more time at a patient's bedside.

"We want our nurses to have time to actually nurse and support the patient. We want to remove the barriers … to provide seamless technology integration," said Ann O'Brien, a registered nurse and Kaiser's national director of clinical informatics.

The trial being conducted in Sacramento is part of a broader program, dubbed "Destination Bedside." Kaiser expects to choose an electronic tablet by the end of the year for use at its hospitals nationwide.

The idea is to improve care and safety by providing up-to-the minute medical information on the patient that can help prevent mistakes. X-rays, medical charts, prescriptions and notes would be readily available at a tap of a finger.

One tablet, the Motion C5, promoted by its manufacturer as a "mobile clinical assistant," is about the size of a small bathroom scale. It has handles and is equipped with a pen-like stylus.

"I love it," said Thomas Whiteford, a registered nurse at Kaiser's Sacramento Medical Center, who took part in testing the device. "I can sit next to the patient and do my charting."

The popularity of Apple's iPhone among doctors could be a natural springboard for the iPad. But O'Brien, the health care giant's informatics director, said the device isn't even out yet to assess its potential.

Already, the iPhone has become a favorite tool among young doctors, who use many of the scores of health care-related apps, including encyclopedic information on pharmaceuticals.

Kaiser officials are considering whether the iPhone, now a ubiquitous accessory for hipsters and the tech-savvy, will become standard issue at its hospitals to more intimately bring technology to a patient's bedside.

Jason Wilk, who authors the technology blog tinycomb.com" target="_blank">>tinycomb.com, reported last week that Apple officials had visited a Los Angeles hospital, ostensibly to market their products. He presumed it was the iPad.

"Considering what happened with the iPhone, it seems like it makes a lot of sense that they would be talking with hospitals," Wilk said, noting the mobile device's popularity among doctors. "You can do so much more with a larger screen, for medical charts. This is probably the future of computing."

Perhaps it's the future of medicine, said Dr. Javeed Siddiqui, associate medical director for the Center for Health and Technology at UC Davis Medical Center.

Nurses, doctors and pharmacists have already been using hand-held tablets, but wide-scale deployment would be expensive. The model that Kaiser is considering and that UC Davis is already using on a limited basis costs more than $2,000 per unit.

Many hospitals now use full-sized computers and monitors mounted on wheeled carts, but these don't offer the same ease of use and mobility as hand-held tablets.

Laptops would seem an alternative, but aren't as easy to use as they would seem, particularly in a clinical setting where doctors and nurses are always on the go. And they aren't durable and can't easily be swabbed down for disinfection.

The hope among hospital officials is that electronic tablets will further power the technological revolution already under way at hospitals. And it's an obvious extension of the industrywide push toward paperless electronic medical records.

"Information at your fingertips is what medicine should be all about. It allows you to access information as you walk around or as you talk to the patient," Siddiqui said.

"The paper chart is an antiquated way of providing health care," Siddiqui said. "The paper chart is inefficient. It doesn't allow for rapid dissemination of information and really is no longer, I believe, the standard of care in health care delivery."

Siddiqui, if not caught up in all the buzz generated by Wednesday's product announcement of the iPad, is excited about the technological strides the device could spur in the medical industry. "It's portable and it's lightweight. It has touch screen, a Web browser – and all those features can be utilized as a way to integrate technology in patient care," he said.

Event guests play with the new Apple iPad during an Apple Special Event at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts January 27, 2010 in San Francisco, California. CEO Steve Jobs and Apple Inc. introduced its latest creation, the iPad, a mobile tablet browsing device that is a cross between the iPhone and a MacBook laptop.

Hello and welcome to iPad.

Welcome to what?

iPod? iPhone?

Nope, iPad, Apple's latest device, the digital tablet that made its debut in San Francisco on Wednesday.

Some in Sacramento were just learning about the new item – cloaked in secrecy save for several pre-launch leaks – Wednesday afternoon.

"I just heard about it on the news. I don't know anything about it," said Bob Morales of Vacaville, standing outside the Apple Store at Arden Fair mall while his wife, Lucia, waited for her Mac Pro to be repaired. "But everyone was speculating on it. I guess that's what gets all the excitement up."

Apple's previous unveilings of the iPod and iPhone were widely anticipated events, and buzz should follow the new tablet – think iPhone but bigger and with no call function – to store shelves.

It's a half-inch thick and weighs a pound and a half with a 9.7-inch touch screen display that could catch the attention of those who use electronic reader devices like the Amazon Kindle. It has a 10-hour battery life and can run games.

The cost will range from $499 to $829, depending on storage capacity and 3G wireless connectivity.

David Lee of Fremont is "one of those crazy people who waited in line for an iPhone" in 2007, he said. But the accountant knew little about Apple's latest device.

"I haven't had time to keep up to date with Apple. I've been too busy," he said, walking out of the Apple Store. "It might be a little too pricey for some. But after a couple of months, the price may come down."

New product or not, Vaughan Ramon of Boston was not interested. In Northern California to visit her mother in Winters, Ramon said she is happy with her Mac Pro, thank you.

"I know nothing about the iPad, but I can't see a need unless Apple creates a need – which they're good at doing," she said.

But when Lucia Morales emerged from the Apple Store, she said she expected it to do big business when the tablets reach store shelves.

Morales said customers were asking for the devices while she waited. She wondered aloud how Microsoft Corp. would respond.

Microsoft was expected to present a tablet earlier this month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas but did not.

"You're not going to be able to get through the doors when (the iPads) come in. It's going to be unbelievable," she said. "Given this, what's Microsoft going to do?"

Reyes Captures Fifth Derby City Classic All Around Title Claims 9-Ball Title For Icing Efren Reyes has been considered the best pool players alive for the last decade or so, give or take a few. As the 12th Annual Derby City Classic kicked off, many top handicappers asked if Reyes had what it took to take [...]

Chances are you've got a few discarded cell phones lying around, gathering dust in a drawer or desk.

By some counts, cell-crazed Americans have upward of 100 million wireless phones sitting idle. So many, in fact, it's been estimated that if all the unused cell phones were laid end to end, they'd crisscross the country nearly seven times between New York and Los Angeles.

Whether that's even remotely true, there's no doubt that Americans are sitting on hundreds of handsets.

So what to do with all those old Razrs, Nokias and flip-phones? Sell them? Donate? Recycle? Toss them in the trash?

The last is clearly the worst option. In fact, in California, it's against the law to discard any electronic device, including a cell phone, in the garbage. That's to avoid letting the hazardous metals found in e-waste, including arsenic, copper and lead, wind up in landfills, where they'll contaminate soil and underground water supplies.

So scratch that option.

"We encourage people to either recycle or donate – anything to keep them out of landfills," said Amy Norris, spokeswoman for CalRecycle, which oversees the state's recycling programs.

If you've got unwanted cell phones to discard, here are your three best options: Sell for cash, donate to charity or recycle as e-waste.

Sell for cash

If your phone still works and isn't too scratched or beat up, it may be worth selling. Sites like cellforcash.com or gazelle.com let you type in your cell phone model and get a price quote.

For instance, I took a handful of old phones left over from my 20-something kids and typed in the make and models on several Web sites. (To find the model number, pop off the back and take out the battery. The model number should be visible below.)

A couple of Nokias that my son had in high school were so old they weren't listed on any of the sites I checked. And my 3-year-old LG fetched a whopping $2, or zero, depending on the site.

Some companies warn upfront that the older your model, the less likely it's got any resale value left.

Gazelle.com, for instance, will pay anywhere from $7 for a Motorola Razr V3 up to $219 for certain 3G iPhones or $269 for a Blackberry Storm2. The offers are based on the phone's condition and usability and whether you still have cables, batteries and other accessories.

Many cash-for-cell-phone sites allow you to donate phones that have no cash value.

Get it recycled

In an effort to divert more toxic metals out of municipal landfills, California passed a law in 2004 requiring all wireless phone sellers to accept used phones for recycling. These days, everyone from Costco to Best Buy takes old cell phones for recycling.

According to the state Department of Toxic Substances Control, retailers and recyclers collected about 3.6 million cell phones in 2008, the most recent data available. That represents about 25 percent of the estimated 14.5 million mobile phones sold in the state that year.

Recyclers like Arman Sadeghi, CEO of All Green Electronics Recycling in Orange, said every cell phone collected from its more than 100 drop-off sites in California is mined for its scrap value. The plastic is shredded, the aluminum parts get separated and the circuit board is stripped of precious metals, like gold, copper, platinum and silver.

None of the phones or their parts, he said, "go to landfills or Third World countries overseas."

While tiny, cell phones pack a mighty recycling punch. Of 500,000 pounds of discarded electronics collected at All Green's local events in Southern California in January, cell phones make up only about 2,100 pounds, Sadeghi said. "By weight, they're a rather small percentage of what we collect. But by value and sheer numbers, it's big."

He said the circuitry inside a single cell phone contains "maybe 75 cents worth" of gold, which isn't much. "But when you're recycling hundreds and thousands of cell phones, it adds up quickly."

It's easy to find local e-waste recyclers at Web sites like erecycle.org or the state's www.calrecycle.ca.gov. Or call CalRecycle at (866) 218-6103. You won't get paid for your cell phone but will get the reward of knowing you're helping the environment.

Donate to charity

Want your cell phone to help a good cause? Lots of sites take donated phones, then sell or recycle the parts and use the proceeds to support everything from low-income home rebuilding to kidney research.

Cell Phones for Soldiers, for instance, sells donated phones to recyclers and uses the proceeds to purchase prepaid calling cards for military members serving overseas. Mike Newman, vice president of ReCellular Inc., said the charity collected 2 million used cell phones last year – 200,000 alone from California. (It's at www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com or (800) 426-1031.)

Another charitable source is the 911 Cell Phone Bank, which works with more than 1,000 law enforcement and victim-abuse groups nationwide to provide emergency 911 cell phones to those in need.

"Every month, we receive anywhere from 15,000 to 20,000 cell phones," mostly Verizon models, said James Mosieur, director of the Florida-based nonprofit.

Old phones capable of making a 911 call – about 4,000 a month – are cleaned, refurbished and shipped to one of 600 police and sheriff's departments or to hundreds of victims groups for women, children and seniors.

(For details, go to www.911cellphonebank.org or call (866) 290-7864.)

Erase it

No matter how you discard your cell phone, take these steps first:

• Discontinue your cell phone service.

• Erase the phone's memory of contacts and other data. Sites like recellular.com/recycling and recyclewirelessphones.com have a free "cell phone eraser" where you type in your cell phone manufacturer and model and get e-mailed instructions on how to delete your contact names and numbers.

• Remove the phone's SIM card, if it has one. If you're not sure, check with your wireless provider.

Another option

And if you really want to hang onto that dead cell phone, you can always turn it into a crafts project.

Randy Sarafan, the San Francisco-based author of "62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer (and Other Discarded Electronics)," recommends dismantling your cell phone and using the parts for "geek chic": smart-card necklaces or flip-phone flashlights.

Now that's recycling with flair.