Cyberlog: The Journal of Applied Medical Software: Vol. 1, no. 1, 1985-. Q. $695. Cardinal Health...
1
Cindy and Will Hepfer, Column Editors I Periodicals Charles Bishop Cyberlog: The Journal of Applied Medical Software. Vol. 1, no. 1, 1985-. Q. $695. Cardinal Health Systems, Inc., 7562 Market Place Dr., Eden Prairie, MN 55344-3636. Senior Editor: Charles T. Alward, M.D. Available in IBM/PC or Apple II versions. This serial is a quarterly publication consist- ing of printed text and diskettes for an IBM-PC microcomputer (requiring color graphics adaptor, composite video monitor, and DOS 2.0 or higher). Each of the quarterly issues of Cyberlog is devoted to a single medical topic. The issue I reviewed was entitled: "Management of Type II Diabetes." Topics projected for future issues include: hyper- tension, respiratory failure, medical emergencies, and cardiology. The material for this issue was organized around text, tutorials, case studies, and decision support tools, the latter three parts being on the (three) disks enclosed. In addition, there was a stapled handout consisting of two pages of learning objectives and four pages of a CME examination. The rest of the Cyberlog packet consisted of a miscellaneous collection of instruction sheets, pur- chasing information, and solicitation. The text, contained in a booklet of sixty-four letter-size pages, began with a section entitled "An Expert System Approach to Type II Diabetes Mellitus" and continued with sections on cause, classification, control, and complications. The text employed diagrams, tables, and algorithmic schemes to simplify the presentation. Because the authors promote "applying the expert system through a team approach," the text intertwines r~athot~hv~;- ology, clinical observation, therapeutic agents, diet, exercise, stress management, pathological compli- cations, and patient staging. Much information was contai_~ed i~ thc boc;L~.: -. ::; ;:~: .:~: ~ ~ ~' in a textbook chapter, but I felt that the approach to the subject was fragmented. With regard to the disk material, I question what the computer can offer beyond the capability of the printed page. In the tutorials, the bold colors of the computer screen, which could have been used to present material in an imaginative and memorable fashion, were not effectively uti- lized. Animated graphics, supposedly a supreme advantage over the printed page, appeared occa- sionally and to me added only confusing motion, not clarification. A unique advantage of the com- puter, the ability to simulate and model, went es- sentially unused. I failed to find any redeeming reason for choosing to watch a computer display rather than quickly flipping pages in printed text. "Letting your fingers do the walking" is still faster and easier than keying in characters at a keyboard. The tools sections on the disks were an attempt to inform the user on such subjects as the types and characteristics of insulin preparations. The tabulation of this material on disk seemed to offer no particular advantage over the equivalent tabulation in print. The powerful computer characteristic of searching for a particular key word or attribute was not utilized. Clinical cases should indeed be the showplace for the computer, since the computer can operate interactively with the user. Alas, these cases cast the computer in the role of unsympathetic tyrant. Of many possible answers, only one was right, the rest dead wrong. Instructors have a great tendency to lock their minds into a particular line of ex- position, using their own pet phrases. The cases in this issue of Cyberlog followed the same pattern. I have the impression that another instructor would not recommend that his students utilize these cases, since he would stress other points and come to different conclusions. This criticism does not make the present program unique. Many computer cases have become available on disk, but there has been no stampede by instructors to utilize each other's versions. Cyberlog is an attempt to exploit the micro- computer's special characteristics in presenting information already available in printed works. I feel that the computer has been sold short. at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Lorraine A. Jean The Ohio Review. 1959-. T. $12. Ohio University, Ellis Hall, Athens, OH 45701-2979. Editor: Wayne Dodd. Circulation: 2,000. Indexed: Abstr. Pop. Cult. Curr. Cont. Arts & Hum. Cit. Ind. Amer. Hum. Ind. LCR. M.L.A. Ind. Arner. Per. Verse. Bk. Rev. SERIALS REVIEW SPRING 1986 5
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Transcript of Cyberlog: The Journal of Applied Medical Software: Vol. 1, no. 1, 1985-. Q. $695. Cardinal Health...
Cindy and Will Hepfer, Column Editors
I
Periodicals
Charles Bishop
Cyberlog: The Journal of Applied Medical Software. Vol. 1, no. 1, 1985-. Q. $695. Cardinal Health Systems, Inc., 7562 Market Place Dr., Eden Prairie, MN 55344-3636. Senior Editor: Charles T. Alward, M.D. Available in IBM/PC or Apple II versions.
This serial is a quarterly publication consist- ing of printed text and diskettes for an IBM-PC microcomputer (requiring color graphics adaptor, composite video monitor, and DOS 2.0 or higher). Each of the quarterly issues of Cyberlog is devoted to a single medical topic. The issue I reviewed was entitled: "Management of Type II Diabetes." Topics projected for future issues include: hyper- tension, respiratory failure, medical emergencies, and cardiology.
The material for this issue was organized around text, tutorials, case studies, and decision support tools, the latter three parts being on the (three) disks enclosed. In addition, there was a stapled handout consisting of two pages of learning objectives and four pages of a CME examination. The rest of the Cyberlog packet consisted of a miscellaneous collection of instruction sheets, pur- chasing information, and solicitation.
The text, contained in a booklet of sixty-four letter-size pages, began with a section entitled "An Expert System Approach to Type II Diabetes Mellitus" and continued with sections on cause, classification, control, and complications. The text employed diagrams, tables, and algorithmic schemes to simplify the presentation. Because the authors promote "applying the expert system through a team approach," the text intertwines r~athot~hv~;- ology, clinical observation, therapeutic agents, diet, exercise, stress management, pathological compli- cations, and patient staging. Much information was contai_~ed i~ thc boc;L~.: - . ::; ;:~: .:~: ~ ~ ~' in a textbook chapter, but I felt that the approach to the subject was fragmented.
With regard to the disk material, I question what the computer can offer beyond the capability of the printed page. In the tutorials, the bold colors of the computer screen, which could have been used to present material in an imaginative and memorable fashion, were not effectively uti- lized. Animated graphics, supposedly a supreme advantage over the printed page, appeared occa- sionally and to me added only confusing motion,
not clarification. A unique advantage of the com- puter, the ability to simulate and model, went es- sentially unused. I failed to find any redeeming reason for choosing to watch a computer display rather than quickly flipping pages in printed text. "Letting your fingers do the walking" is still faster and easier than keying in characters at a keyboard.
The tools sections on the disks were an attempt to inform the user on such subjects as the types and characteristics of insulin preparations. The tabulation of this material on disk seemed to offer no particular advantage over the equivalent tabulation in print. The powerful computer characteristic of searching for a particular key word or attribute was not utilized.
Clinical cases should indeed be the showplace for the computer, since the computer can operate interactively with the user. Alas, these cases cast the computer in the role of unsympathetic tyrant. Of many possible answers, only one was right, the rest dead wrong. Instructors have a great tendency to lock their minds into a particular line of ex- position, using their own pet phrases. The cases in this issue of Cyberlog followed the same pattern. I have the impression that another instructor would not recommend that his students utilize these cases, since he would stress other points and come to different conclusions. This criticism does not make the present program unique. Many computer cases have become available on disk, but there has been no stampede by instructors to utilize each other's versions.
Cyberlog is an attempt to exploit the micro- computer's special characteristics in presenting information already available in printed works. I feel that the computer has been sold short.
at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Lorraine A. Jean
The Ohio Review. 1959-. T. $12. Ohio University, Ellis Hall, Athens, OH 45701-2979. Editor: Wayne Dodd. Circulation: 2,000. Indexed: Abstr. Pop. Cult. Curr. Cont. Arts & Hum. Cit. Ind. Amer. Hum. Ind. LCR. M.L.A. Ind. Arner. Per. Verse. Bk. Rev.
SERIALS REVIEW SPRING 1986 5
